Sword Art Online: Alternate Story
by WillySmith1510
Summary: What happens if Kirito managed to save the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild from their tragic fates? Will this affects how Kirito's journey will progress? Meanwhile, conflicts between major guilds started rising, and a guild war is imminent. KIRITO X SACHI!
1. Shattered Promise

Seriously, what were _they_ thinking!?

I was panting heavily, exhausted from using all my energy to defeat all those high-level monsters. I looked at my HP bar. It was almost depleted. I looked at Sachi, she was sitting on the floor, hands on her face. I could tell she was crying, after all that's happened.

"I told you guys it was a trap!" I shouted at them, these idiots.

The other members of the Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild looked at me silently.

"...Ducker rushed in first, he wanted the rare item. So we..." Sasamaru said bitterly.

"Rushed in with him and didn't listen to me? Look how that turned out! Ducker is _dead_, Sasamaru! He's really dead! That idiot died trying to get some worthless items!" I shouted back.

"Hey! Don't talk about my friend like that, you bastard!" Tetsuo, another member, shouted at me.

"Why didn't you tell us about this dungeon earlier!? You ARE a Beater, right!? There's no way any of us could beat all those monsters like that! I saw your level earlier while you were fighting. You're clearly more experienced than us! Why!? Why didn't you tell us about this place!? Why did you lied to us!? So you could use us as stepping stones for you!? That's why you let Ducker died!"

"Great! After all that shit I went through to protect you guys and this is how you thanked me!? It should be _fucking_ obvious that this place is a deathtrap! Look around! A secret dungeon in a middle of nowhere? A secret room with a lone treasure box in the middle and nothing else? Even a first grader could tell that it's a trap! You were blinded because of your greed for items!" I shouted at Tetsuo. I almost _died _because of them, damn it! I have a right to be angry!

Tetsuo, who's looking at me furiously, then punched me in the face.

"YOU FUCKER WOULDN'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS! YOU BEATERS CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE PAIN OF LOSING SOMEONE YOU CARED! BECAUSE YOU NEVER CARED FOR ANYONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF! YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE! IT SHOULD BE YOU THAT DIED INSTEAD OF DUCKER!"

With every word he said, he punched me fist-by-fist. I was exhausted from the fight so I didn't react, but I know he can't hurt me. His level is far lower than me so his attacks can't do any damage to my body.

But I felt the pain...the pain of Tetsuo's fist, along with the realization that every word he said was right.

I...I was selfish...

It's true that I lied about my level so I could join their guild. It's not that they didn't invited me first.

This isn't the first time I saved their lives.

* * *

_"And here's to Kirito-san, the man who saved our lives!" Ducker said happily, with a glass of juice in his hand._

_Five people stood around me, all holding their glasses while looking at me happily._

_"Cheers!" And with that, everyone smiled at me._

_"C-Cheers..." I was shocked. Nobody ever gave me such a warming welcome since I...since that incident on the first floor. _

_"Thanks!" Keita, the leader of the guild, congratulates me._

_"You saved us" Tetsuo smiled at me._

_"Thank you. Thank you so much!" Sachi, the only female member of the group, said to me._

_"It was nothing." I said. _

_Really, it wasn't that hard anyways. Those monsters are just low-levels. They tend to use their numbers to overwhelm their opponents, but that didn't work with me because I'm too fast for them to swarm me. So I use my speed to lure them while the rest of the guild flanked them one-by-one, while I myself cut down everything in my way. In less than a minute, all monsters are gone._

_I looked at Sachi. Her face became saddened. I could tell she was very afraid from the experience. During the fight, everyone battles the monsters except her, who could only stand and watch in terror. She was almost getting a deadly blow from one of them, but I pushed her out of the way just in time._

_"I was really scared, then when you came to save me, I was so happy!" Sachi said, then started sobbing. She was about to cry._

_I pitied her. Nobody deserves this. Innocent young people, forced to fight to survive in what they thought to be just a simple video game. It causes scars to people's minds. Even if they survive all of this, they wouldn't be the same anymore... _

_Keita approached me and whispered "I know it's rude to ask, but what level are you?"_

_I think about it a bit._

_'Come on, Kirito. What are you afraid of? Just tell them your level!'_

_'But...'_

_'If I did, then they'll know that I'm a Beater...'_

_'If they know, they'll probably hate me...'_

_"Level 20 or so..." I lied to Keita, looking away from his eyes._

_I look at my level status which is hidden so only I could see it._

_Kirito 8120/8120 LV:40_

_"Eh? That isn't too different than ours." Keita said surprisingly._

_"It's really amazing that you're a solo player." He continued._

_"Keita, you don't need to be so polite. Solo players just targeted isolated enemies. It isn't that efficient. " I explained to him. I just lied to him about my level, after all._

_"Oh...I see. In that case, Kirito, what would you think...about joining our guild?" He said with a smile on his face._

_I was surprised._

_He actually wants me to join his guild?_

_"The only one we have who can occupy the vanguard is Tetsuo, a mace user." Keita pointed at Tetsuo, a guy in purple clothes with a friendly smile._

_"And this girl, her name is Sachi." Keita then moved his hand to the blue-headed girl beside him, and patted her head. _

_"I planned to have her switch to use sword and shield so she could fight in the front, but she says that she isn't sure how to. Do you think you could show her the ropes?"_

_"What the...don't talk about me like I'm useless!" Sachi looked at Keita disapprovingly._

_"I can't go out and fight in the front ranks. I'd be scared!" Sachi moved away from Keita._

_"Just hide behind your shield" Ducker said._

_"You've always been a scaredy-cat" Tetsuo teased._

_"Boo!" Sasamaru made fun of her._

_And everybody except me and Sachi laughed._

_"Everyone in our guild is from our school's PC Research Club." Keita continued._

_"Ah, but don't worry...you'll fit in soon, right?" He looked at his friends, and then they all smiled at me again, encouraged me to join their guild._

_I looked at Sachi, she has the brightest smile of them all. I feel kinda weird when I looked at her._

_I sat silently, thinking a little bit about it._

_'Hey, you ARE a Beater. You're supposed to work alone!'_

_'But...there's nothing wrong with joining a guild once in a while, is it?'_

_'They're just gonna be a burden to you! Those guys wouldn't last five minutes against all those monsters out there! You've seen them fight yourself!'_

_'That's why I need to protect them! That girl...Sachi...She's gonna die if I don't do something!'_

_'So what if you can't protect them? Huh! What if that girl died on your watch?'_

_What if I can't protect her..._

_Damn it._

_'I have to, I won't let it happen. I will protect them no matter what!'_

_..._

_"Okay..." I said silently. "Looks like I'm gonna join, after all..." I looked at Keita and Sachi._

_"Thanks." And then they both smiled brightly, and the group cheered and laughed happily together._

_Somehow, I feel happy. A feeling I haven't have for a long while. It's a warm feeling, you know, being able to make someone happy. It's true about what they said, if one person's happy, then the others around them will feel happy, too._

_But...am I really happy with this?_

_'Are you sure they really wanted you? Or you really needed them?'_

* * *

"...You son of a bitch." Tetsuo was out of energy, and laid down on the floor, exhausted.

My face hurts like hell, but it didn't hurt more than what I've realized.

I've let Ducker die.

So, I can't protect them after all, even with the level I have, I still let him die.

I should've know better. Yes, I didn't know that there's a hidden room here, but when I looked inside I realized that instant that it was a trap. I could've warn them earlier, stopped them, before they all opened that damn box.

In the end, it didn't matter. I failed them.

Keita's gonna be furious at this.

I didn't...I didn't ask for this...

I was only...only wanted them to be happy...so...

...so I can be happy, too.

Sachi, who finally stops crying, walked to Tetsuo, and helped him up together with Sasamaru.

I couldn't bear to face her.

"Sachi..." I speak.

"Take these." I gave her my spare teleportation crystals.

"Go back to Keita, tell him, tell him the truth. Tell him that I was responsible for all of this...and...I'm sorry...for everything." I said somberly.

Sachi looked at me, but I didn't look back.

"And what are you going to do, Kirito? Hey! Kirito! Where are you going!?"

I was walking away from them, into a dark corridor on the opposite side.

"I'm quitting, Sachi. I'm gonna go back to being a solo player. It's...it's..."

_It's better this way._ I finished the sentence in my mind.

"No! Don't leave us! Kirito!"

I'm sorry, Sachi...

Even though I promised to protect her.

I can't bear it. If I can't protect her. If I'm somehow responsible for her death, I couldn't live with myself.

To hell with that promise.

Why bother making it if you can't keep it and regret about it later.

"Kirito!" Sachi shouted, but I was already gone.

* * *

**Editor's note: Well, a downer ending on this one. To say, I've always hated Ducker. Really, that idiot deserves to die, you know? Seriously, an empty room with a strange big box in the middle. Yeah, Ducker, it's REALLY NOT a trap. You can run straight to the box and open it if you like! There's sure to be some extra-rare item for you and your friends to DIE for!**

**Anyways, sorry for my little outburst. This story will deal if somehow Kirito managed to save the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild from their tragic fates (minus Ducker, obviously) and how it will change Kirito's personality, as well as the consequences that followed by the Black Cats of the Full Moon's survival to the rest of the SAO community. The main plot will also followed in what I called 'Guild Wars' in SAO. The legendary crimson Knights of the Blood guild, and the Holy Dragon Alliance, another major guild yet have so little roles in the original anime, will be two of the major powers in my story. Of course, being involved with KotB means it'll involve with Asuna. So what happens if Kirito falls with Sachi first...teasing! LOL Aside from the canon Asuna x Kirito pairing, I'm also fond of Sachi x Kirito. They just looked so cute together and there's nice chemistry between them. It's a shame they had to kill her off, it's just...heartbreaking. Anyways, I promise, you wouldn't die now, Sachi-chan!**

**This story will continue along with another SAO & Angel Beats! crossover Project Rebirth. So I decided to release new chapters for both stories each week if I can, so stay tuned! **


	2. When You Wish Upon A Star

Ten months have passed since I left the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild.

Two hundreds and a few more deaths occurred since then, but I'm sure they're still alive.

I heard rumors about them recruiting some new members, to replace me and the deceased Ducker, and have started to make some reputations among the medium-ranking guilds.

Keita's a friendly and reasonable person. They'll most likely find a good member or two.

Well, they're better off without me, after all.

Me? Well, I'm back to being a full-time Solo player, leveling up and doing some good-paying job so I could buy some new weapons.

I once helped a young beast-tamer, a rare job in a world that focused on close combats, to revive her fallen dragon. Her name is Silica, if I remember correctly. Back then, I was taking a job to find and put down a rogue orange guild that's been randomly killing other guilds for their items. One such guild has all their members killed except for their leader, who begged me to find and arrest them. I traced them back to Silica, whom was tricked into finding a rare flower that can revive her dragon.

At any rate, I managed to stop them. Those jokes had nothing on me because of my level grinding. Their leader, Rosalia, was taken under arrest along with her guild, and Silica finally revived her pet dragon at last.

Well, at least I could do something right, for once.

Now, I'm currently residing on the 57th Floor. The Frontline guilds are making quite good progress, mainly because of two major guilds, the Knights of the Blood Oath guild, famous for its elite members and excellent teamwork, and the Holy Dragon Alliance guild, known for its strength in numbers and possession of numerous rare items (some of them they 'borrowed' from other players, by force, if I might add).

However, nowadays, there's been news that they didn't really get along.

Yesterday, I witnessed a group young KBO knights picked a fight with some of the HDA paladins, because the paladins accused the knights for stealing a rare sword from them, while the knights berated them for their ruthless tactics and lack of care. Although nobody died because the fight took place inside the town which is a safe zone, the relationship between the two guilds greatly worsened because of the incident.

And this wasn't the first time something like this happened.

As a solo player, I'm therefore free from the restrictions of guilds and from their conflicts, so I tried not to involve with them too much. Except there's one time when this girl...Asuna, a girl whom I partied with to defeat the first floor boss from a long time ago, asked me to help investigate a strange murder in a safe area, and I 'volunteered' to take up a role of a private eye to find out the truth. Well, she's now rising up in the ranks of the KBO guild, after all. She's one of its finest vice commanders, and therefore, my superior 'officer', so I had to obey her orders.

Eventually, all was resolved, and it turns out no one really died after all. It was just all a big gambit to reveal a traitor in one of the guilds.

Except...if I'm just a little bit more late...someone could've died for real...

The Laughing Coffin guild...an infamous red guild consisted of sadists and psychos who enjoyed murdered their fellow trapped players in cold blood. They got involved with the incident as well, and would've murdered someone for real had I and Asuna not stopped them first...

That...experience showed me a side I've never seen before while playing solo. The importance of guilds, how they worked and shared, and beyond that, marriage.

Something so simple, yet so complex...

Is this too real even for a video game? I mean, dying in a game is normal, but marriage?

Love between players? Players with real emotional feelings and judgments? A sense of mutual trust and respect between each other that existed far beyond this artificial world into reality itself?

Just wow...

* * *

_"Hey, Kirito? Let's add each other as friends." Asuna said._

_"Huh?" What was that all of a sudden?_

_"We haven't done that yet, right?" She turned to face me._

_"If we're both on the assault team, it's inconvenient if we can't get in touch with each other."_

_"But I'm a solo player..." I said, though it sounded more like a surprise than dismissive._

_"I didn't say you have to party up with me! And you should make some friends, too."_

_"Yeah...well, I wouldn't say it's inconvenient and..." _

_She walked up to me and gave me a pat on the back._

_"Wha!?" _

_"Think about it while we grab some food! Let's get back to the town first." And then she started walking toward the nearest town._

_I quietly followed her, and think about what she just said._..

* * *

Well, that was two days ago.

I'm still considering whether to add Asuna as my friend. Technically, she's my commanding officer for the assault to clear the floor, but practically, I'm far more experienced than her in terms of combat and tactics, as well as knowledge of the game overall.

Still, I wouldn't have counted my chances too high, seeing that I failed the last guild I joined...eight months ago.

I wondered about Sachi, how she's been doing these days, and how she dealt with all the traumatic experiences around her. It must've been pretty hard for a young girl who's too afraid of dying.

Every time when I'm not on a quest or clearing the floor, I would went to the first floor, the Town of Beginnings, to be precise, to check the Monument of Life, a board that listed every players in the game, alive and dead, now and then, to find that if Sachi...if the rest of the Black Cats of the Full Moon are alive...

Well, they seems to be fine so far.

Even without my involvement, that guild's getting great progress on their own, without a single lost during the past eight months. Keita's a great leader indeed.

To be honest, I envy him.

At least he could achieve something, while I just live day by day in this world with nothing to do except trying to survive.

* * *

"Hey! Kirito!" Somebody called out to me.

I turned to look, it was Asuna, and she was clearly _not _happy at all.

"Why the hell haven't you add me to your friend's list yet!? It's two days already! Am I not important enough for you!?" She gave me a very disappointed look.

"Wha...what!?"

"I already told you, haven't I? You should consider making some friends here! Don't you think I forgot about that stunt you pulled on the first floor! Yeah, it's cool and what, but that's just plain stupid. Don't you think you have enough enemies yet aside from all the monsters out there!?"

I crossed my arms. She's really naive, isn't she?

"Would you rather want them to fight among themselves?! If I hadn't done what I did back then, the Beta testers and the new players will probably hate each other to guts, and not a single guild would've been created since then." I said.

"Besides , _you're _ the one to talk! Haven't you Knights of the Blood Oath members having conflicts with the Holy Dragon Alliance now?! You two guilds should be working together to clear the floors! Not _against_ each other! At this rate, you'll never be able to make it pass another ten floors, even with my help. I'm not a one man army, you know?" I told her.

"Da...don't change the subject, you idiot! It wasn't my decision to hate the HDA! I was just following orders from my commander!" Asuna yelled out.

"Yeah, and how's that helping you guys clearing the floor so far without the HDA's help? And don't let me start about how I saw those HDA members picking fights with you guys every single time you got a new rare item." I argued.

"Don't get me wrong, those HDA members are bastards, but not all of them are bad. Those guys could be a big help in the front lines, even though they can be selfish about items and experiences most of the time..."

"Easy for you to say! You're a solo player, heck, a Beater, if I might add! You have the luxury of fighting on your own terms! There's no restrictions for you! You kill it, you bought it! Life's so simple when it's only you against the world, isn't it!? Does the word _teamwork_ has any meaning to you!?"

Asuna stared at me.

Damn it, not this shit again.

I thought I've been through this since I left the Black Cats of the Full Moon!

"Right...you want my honest answer!? _Screw_ teamwork! It'll only slow me down! I'm better off on my own! And no matter what you say, I won't change my idea!" I shouted.

Asuna stared at me, her eyes filled with anger.

"...I...I thought you were a better person than this...Kirito..."

And then, out of the blue, she slapped me, hard.

"FINE! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO OUT THERE AND DO WHAT YOU DO BEST!? JUST SOLO THROUGH EVERYTHING!? SCREW YOU! AND DON'T COME BACK CRYING WHEN YOU NEEDED HELP, YOU SELFISH BASTARD!"

Asuna screamed at me, and then she ran away.

"Wa...wait! Asuna!" I yelled out, maybe I was too hard on her.

She turned back to face me one more time, a furious look is still on her face.

_Is that...tears...I just saw in her eyes?_

Asuna grabbed a teleportation crystal, before disappearing.

_Damn it...damn it all..._

I screwed up yet again, didn't I?

Maybe...I really am a selfish person...

* * *

After two more hours of venting my frustrations into the front line monsters, I found myself resting at a little inn in a town called Farli.

That night, I was sleeping on my bed, when a new message alert awaken me from my slumber.

I checked the clock on the room's wall, it's 23.45.

"...um...who the hell sent a message this late?"

I checked the new messages.

_Message No. 01, Sender: SAO Administration, Subject: Welcome to SAO! _

_Message No. 02, Sender: Klein, Subject: Hey! Where the hell are you!?_

_Message No. 03, Sender: SAO Administration, Subject: New items discount_

_Message No. 04, Sender: Silica, Subject: Thank you again for helping me! _

_._

_._

_._

_**(NEW) Message No. 17, Sender: Sachi, Subject: How are you?**_

...what?

I rubbed my eyes, thinking that what I just saw is just an illusion.

It was still there.

_**(NEW) Message No. 17, Sender: Sachi, Subject: How are you?**_

I pressed my finger on the message.

_This message is a voice mail, do you want to open?_

_Yes / No_

A voice mail?

And from Sachi?

Whoa...that was unexpected.

Aside from Klein, who I met occasionally on the front lines, and other people I've helped with their problems like Silica, I haven't really got any mails from anyone.

Why would Sachi sent me a message?

I pressed my finger on the _Yes_ button, and the voice mail played.

"...Kirito? Kirito, if you got this message, then I'm very glad you're still alive..."

The female voice I'm familiar with spoken.

"I...really...I don't know what to say. I just wanted you to know that we're doing fine. Actually, I think I'm getting a little better at fighting now..."

_Good for her_, I think.

"We've got three new members in our guild, they're all very friendly people. I wish you could meet them..."

No, thanks.

"We've been expanding our guild. Keita said that sooner or later we could join the other major vanguard guilds on the front lines. But...well...I'm still somewhat afraid of it...fighting on the front lines."

Guess she still haven't change...

"But don't worry, Keita said he's just gonna let me be the supporter. As long as I'm not doing something stupid, nothing bad will happen to me..." She continued.

"The point is...why I'm sending you this message is...because..."

"Today's Ducker's birthday."

My eyes widen in surprise.

"I...understand that you're still blaming yourself for his death..."

Hell yes! Actually, that's an understatement. I've been having nightmares lately! A nightmare about how I failed to save him, about what _could _happen to others, about Sasamaru, Tetsuo and you, _Sachi, _all died in front of me...

I dreamt about how I failed to protect all of you...

"I...think I can speak for the rest of my guild...you don't have to blame yourself anymore, Kirito-kun."

Easy for you to say...

"Keita was...shocked when Tetsuo told him about...about what happened...but he accepted it bravely. He also said it's not your fault at all, despite Tetsuo's protests. It's partly our fault, too. If you remember, Ducker was the one who came up with the idea of us going to that dungeon in the first place...when we're not ready...and he was also the one who triggered the trap..."

"We were careless, but you let us went there anyways. I don't know why didn't you stop us, but I guess you have your reasons. I know that deep inside you're a good person, Kirito-kun. Had you not with us on that fateful day, all of us would've perished in that deadly trap..."

I...I never thought of it this way...

Well, honestly, part of me was somewhat careless, too, back then. I thought that the dungeon was not so dangerous considered the whole guild's levels. I never expected them to find a hidden trap room, which I myself didn't even know it was there.

But...it's true, I did save them...

"I...no...we must thank you for saving us for the second time...No, we must thank you for all the time you're with us. You've taught us so many things when you're still here. You taught us numerous things we could use to survive in this deadly world...Being a Beater or not, it made no differences..." Sachi continued.

"I...have something to confess...that night...when we shared the room together..."

_Wha?_

"...I...accidentally saw your true level that night. Since then, I've knew how you got your unbelievable strengths and vast knowledge about the world...I pieced it together, and finally realized that you might be the infamous Beater everyone's talking about."

What the heck? Then why didn't she tell her friends?

"I thought really hard about why you would hide your level and join us, but I never did figure it out..."

So she knew, she knew about it the whole time...

"But...I felt so relieved...knowing that you're with us, but I also know that we can't depend on you forever. I know that ever since I told you that I'm afraid of dying, you've been trying your hardest to protect me, to keep me from harm's way..."

"...but, I also knew that, if I died, if any of us died, you would blame yourself. You probably thought that with your high level and overall knowledge of the game, you should be able to protect us..."

And then she laughed.

"You know...I actually made a voice gift to be given to you, in case I died, to remind you that it's not your fault at all. It's not anyone's fault...it's our own problems."

"Ever since that night, you kept telling me that you won't let me die no matter what happens. But what happens if it's all reversed? If it's _us _that let you die? That day, when we got into a trap, and you saved us, you nearly died yourself. You almost died because of our clumsiness...and that wasn't our first time, either."

Sachi's voice saddened again.

"I...I was very afraid...afraid of losing you...I don't care anymore if I live or die, I don't want you to die..."

She started sobbing now.

"Promise me one thing...Kirito...no matter what happens to us...you keep on living, okay? Don't die now...don't...lose hope in living...You're a good person...you...don't deserve to die now..."

_You too, Sachi..._

"Keep on living...doing good things...to others, okay? If we're lucky, we might see each other again someday..."

"Ducker would've probably said the same thing...he admired you, you know?" Sachi added.

"If...if by any chances you wanted to see us, we're currently on the fifty-fifth floor, doing some business with the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. You could meet us there, at their headquarters, in the city of Grandum..."

"There's still some time left, I think I'll sing you a song...it's...my favorite song from my childhood..."

And then she hummed a tune...

It's...

_When you wish upon a star_

_Makes no difference who you are_

_Anything your heart desires_

_Will come to you_

I recognize that tune...

_If your heart is in your dreams_

_No request is too extreme_

_When you wish upon a star_

_As dreamers do_

Are you kidding me...?

_Fate is kind_

_She brings to those who love_

_The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing_

Tears started flowing through my eyes.

_Like a bolt out of the blue_

_Fate steps in and sees you through_

_When you wished upon a star_

_Your dream comes true_

I'm...I'm literally breaking down now...

_If your heart is in your dreams _

_No request is too extreme _

_When you wish upon a star _

_As dreamers do_

Such...such a beautiful song...

_When you wish upon a star_

_Your dream comes true_

"Thank you for everything...Kirito, let's meet again someday...Goodbye..." Sachi said her farewells, and the message ended.

_Thank you for all the feels, you little..._

I smiled, though I don't know why I smiled.

Maybe it was happiness? Or a feeling of contentment? Maybe it was sadness?

She...she hasn't gave up on me...

_There's still some hope left for me, right?_

_I could still do good things to others, right?_

I finally stopped crying.

I...I wanted to see her again...

I wanted to make sure that she's still there...

It's about time I start to do something useful for once...

I opened the window and look into the night sky. There are stars all above, all shining brightly.

They're so beautiful.

_Well, it can't be hurt to try, right?_

I made a wish...

I wished that I could be forgiven, for whatever wrongs I've did...May they forgive me for my failures...and blessed me with strengths to do what is right.

And then, I went back to sleep, with only one thing in mind.

_Tomorrow, I'll go see her, and the rest of the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild._

Grandum, here I come...

* * *

**Editor's note: Well, at least this chapter ends on somewhat an upbeat note. Though Asuna hates Kirito now, and the conflicts between the guilds has risen. Yeah, guess I'm really sucked at summary...**

**I don't know what I'm doing when I put the **_**When You Wish Upon A Star **_**by Jesse McCartney here, well, the original song was sang by Cliff Edwards in a classic Disney movie _Pinocchio, _but I liked Jesse's version more_._ I guess I wanted some emotional impact like the Red-nosed Reindeer did in the episode 3 of the anime, where, you know, **_**that **_**happened. T-T. I don't know if it had the same effects as it, but this song means a lot to me during my childhood. It might not suit Sachi somewhat, but its lyrics are beautiful, and it managed to cheer Kirito up...**

**Well, don't know what to say more, so, stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	3. Morning Battle

Let me get one thing clear, I'm NOT a heavy sleeper.

I only need a working alarm clock to wake me up, not the sound of swords clashing!

I was sleeping peacefully, exhausted from yesterday's monsters killing spree. For all I care, I deserved a goddamn break once in a while, but instead, I got this!?

I'm starting to get tired of all this...

"What the hell?!"

I woke up, walked to the window and looked outside.

In the plaza just outside the inn, there are two groups of people fighting each other.

Ah, the KBO knights and the HDA paladins going at it again, as usual...

Well, can't stay in the bed forever, right?

I equipped my gears and ran to the first floor of the inn, where I found numerous people inside the inn, taking refuge from the violence that happened outside.

I looked around the room, trying to find and ask someone who could tell me the whole story.

"Hey! Agil!"

I called out to a brown-skinned man with a large build. His name is Agil. He was the one who helped me and Asuna beat the first floor boss together, and since then, kept in contact with me. He's currently earn his living in this world as a merchant in a small shop on the 50th floor.

He's a good man, always providing me news about what's going on and giving me discounts on his items.

Still, what's he doing here?

"Oi, Kirito! What are you doing here!?" Agil asked.

"I was about to ask you that! Never mind, just tell me what's going on."

Agil shook his head.

"I don't really know about it. I was just standing out there, buying some items, when some HDA paladins approached a young girl wearing the KBO uniform, and accused her of stealing a very rare item from them. The girl denied about it, and tried to get away. But the paladins surrounded her. Suddenly, the KBO knights appeared out of nowhere, and before anyone knew it, swords were drawn and all hell break loose." Agil explained.

"Darn it, so much for starting a new day, huh?"

"Couldn't agree more..." I said miserably.

"So who's this girl you're talking about anyways?" I asked.

Agil pointed to an orange-brown hair girl dressed in red and white KBO uniform.

"Oh, you've got to be joking!"

It was none other than Asuna, the vice commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath.

"Yeah, can't believe that little girl became this capable fighter herself, right?" Agil said.

"Yeah, just what I needed..."

"Anyways, why won't you help her out a little? Isn't she your girlfriend?"

"SHE'S! NOT! MY! GIRLFRIEND!" I yelled.

"Hey, what's with you!? Having a bad sleep last night!?" Agil asked confusingly.

I looked outside, Asuna is fighting two HDA paladins with a rapier. She seemed to hold her own just fine, despite her opponents being much stronger than her.

One knight suddenly crashed into the inn through the window. Apparently he was kicked by his opponent, one of the HDA paladins, who then followed him in.

"I've got you, you bastard!" The paladin screamed out, and prepared to strike his blade into the downed knight, he was already knocked out by the impact so he had no chance of defending himself.

Now, now, this has gone too far.

I pulled out my Elucidator and moved the sword to block the paladin's blade, just inches from the knight's face.

"Hey! This doesn't involve you! Get out of the way if you don't wanna get hurt!" The paladin shouted at me.

"Sorry, dude, but that's just low. Striking an opponent while he's downed is against the rules..." I said coldly.

"What rules!? There's not a single rule in this game that stated like that!" He asked confusingly.

"Who said anything about the game's rules?"

I then slashed my sword up, knocking the paladin backwards by sheer force.

I looked back at the downed KBO knight, he's regaining consciousness now.

"Take care of him, Agil." I said, before going outside to join the battle.

The paladin finally got up, he stared at me furiously.

"So, you asked for it, right? NOW COME GET SOME!" The paladin screamed out, before lunged at me.

I easily dodged the attack, before slashing my sword into his back.

"AHHHH!"

In just a split second, the paladin fell to the ground, unable to fight, but still alive.

The other paladins turned around and saw me.

"Hey! This new meat just picked a fight with us, let's get him!" A paladin in a bright, shining silver armor, who's apparently the leader of the paladins, shouted up.

A group of seven or so HDA paladins surrounded me.

_Shouldn't be a big problem._

I looked further, and saw that the rest of paladins continued fighting the KBO knights. I looked at Asuna. She didn't realize yet that I'm here.

"DIE! YOU PIECE OF-"

Before he finished his curse, I kicked the leader of the paladins in his stomach and sent him flying. Other two paladins closed in on me, but the sheer size of their armors slowed them enough for me to outrun them. Another one is in front of me, I plunged my sword forward so fast he didn't even have the time to react. My sword shattered his blade, disarming him, before I uses another hand and punched the poor guy right in the face.

Within a minute, all seven paladins laid down all around me, defeated.

I looked around, other paladins managed to drive the fewer KBO knights away, only Asuna is still fighting.

The other paladins then closed in on her while her back is turned. She was too busy defending herself from the two paladins in front of her.

_At this rate, she's going to be knocked out!_

I ran toward her, and raise my sword to block the incoming attack just in time.

"Wha!? What the heck!?" Asuna turned around, and showed a surprised look when she saw me.

"Maybe...you should...consider...bringing...more...friends!" I told her, while ferociously fending off the paladin's attacks.

"And...why...are...you...still...here?!" Asuna shouted, she used her rapier to disarm one of the paladins, before stabbing him in the knee, all in a lightning-quick fashion that the paladin never had a chance to react.

Asuna's a pretty good fighter. She moved so fast even by my standard. Her opponents never saw her coming, even if they outnumbered her. Her weapon, a rapier, made up for quick yet effective hit and run tactics.

It's a no wonder that everyone else nicknamed her 'The Flash'.

The fight continued on for another two minutes, before I and Asuna finally got rid of all paladins, except for one young paladin who's still standing. He's clearly exhausted from the previous fighting.

"...why...won't...you...die!?" He then launched a desperate assault on us.

Suddenly, a sword came out of nowhere, and blocked the young paladin's sword, preventing it from reaching us.

The man carrying the sword was another paladin, but he looked different from others.

He's not wearing the usual paladin plate armor like the other HDA members. His armor is more... stylish, but also looked pretty strong enough to deflect any normal attacks. He's also wearing a helmet that's covered his entire face.

"Stop! The fight's over, Feron!" The mysterious paladin said.

The young paladin reluctantly put his sword away.

"But sir! These people! Those KBO bastards, they stole our items!"

"As far as I'm concerned, they _might_ have stolen the items, but you have no right to start a fight with them without my permission. Look what you've caused! You just ruined the whole plaza! So much for other people starting their morning..." The mysterious paladin berated him.

"And what were you thinking? Those two here clearly outclassed you in combat. Look around you, all your friends are either downed or fled the battle. Do you think you could take on these two alone?"

The young paladin shook his head.

"Now, gather your comrades and return to our HQ. We will speak of this later, I have some other matters to do."

The young paladin gave us one last angry look before running to his downed friends and heal them, before they all ran away.

And then the mysterious man turned to us.

"Now, you two must've been through the whole thing. Might I ask how the whole ordeal began?" He asked us.

"Why should we trust you? You're wearing a paladin uniform, with the HDA insignia. You're with them, right?" Asuna asked him back, her sword still drawn.

"First of all, I must apologize for my fellow member's behaviors. Second, I'm not here to fight with you. Rather, I just wanted to ask you some questions."

He then took his helmet off, revealing his face. He seemed to be a middle-aged man with a dark brown hair and beard.

"My name is Edgar. I'm the commander of the Holy Dragon Alliance guild."

His introduction stunned us.

"Have no fear, I have no intention of causing any more damage than it is right now. But that also depends on you, young lady." He turned to Asuna.

"As I've asked before, are you responsible for all of this? Or did my subordinates attacked you first?"

Asuna looked at Edgar. She's somewhat at loss of what to say.

"Um, I think I can speak for her, Mr. Edgar." Agil, who've left the inn, joined the conversation.

"And who are you supposed to be? Mister?" Edgar asked.

"Agil. I'm just a simple merchant who witnessed the battle. I saw one of your members, that young man, intimidated her. From what I've heard, he accused her of having stolen their items. She denied about it, and her friends appeared, and then there was fighting." Agil explained.

"So it would seem." Edgar said, before turning to me.

"Ah, so you must be the notorious Black Swordsman."

What the heck? How did he knows me?

"I recognized you from your clothes and from your fighting style earlier. Kirito, isn't it? So how did you get involved with all of this?" He asked me.

"I...uh..."

I don't know what to say. I looked at Agil, he gave me a look that somewhat says _You brought this on yourself, mate._

"I...I stopped one of your paladins from attacking the downed KBO knight, resulting in the other paladins thinking that I'm their enemy, and attacked me." I explained.

"I see..."

Oh, I almost forgot about that knight.

"Um, Agil? How's that knight doing?" I asked.

"He's fine, the inn owner's taking care of him. As long as he stays in there, the paladins can't attack him. He says he'll find his way back to the KBO HQ himself." Agil said.

"That's a relief." Asuna, who finally managed to said something, then sighed.

"Those hot-headed kids just do whatever they wanted these days. I told them not to start any more fights with the KBO knights until we find out who really stole our items, but yeah, I guess that didn't work..." Edgar continued.

"At any rate, I'm glad that you two are alright. I don't want to strain our relationship with the KBO guild any more than it is right now."

"Actually, I'm not a member of KBO, sir." I interrupted.

"Ye...yeah! He's just a stranger who passed by here, that's all!" Asuna gave me a menacing look like she's telling me _Just shut up now._

"Well, looks like you've found yourself a great ally. From what I've known, Kirito's one of the best solo players out there." Edgar told Asuna.

"Nah, he's just my temporary 'partner'. Besides, he's not really a team player. What did he say about it? Ah, right, _it'll only slow him down_..." Asuna glared at me, with a devious grin on her face.

_You..._

"At any rate..." Edgar interrupted.

"Since you're here, that's fortunate. I was about to travel to the KBO headquarter on the floor 55 to discuss with your commander about the stolen items. Could you accompany me to the place? I'm afraid that if I go alone, they'll recognize me as a threat, with me being the commander of HDA and all..."

Edgar looked at us.

"Well, I was just about to return to my HQ when your paladins attacked me, so yeah, I could bring you there, but no funny tricks!" Asuna warned.

"Hey, I'm about to go there too, myself..." Agil spoke up. "I'm here to restock my supplies before going to the KBO HQ. I've a special request for a rare spear from one of their members."

This is just a coincidence, right?

All of us wanted to go to the Knights of the Blood Oath HQ, on the same day, at the same moment?

"Ah, guys. Actually, I'm going to the KBO HQ, too..." I said slowly.

Everyone looked at me, surprised.

"What's the meaning of this, you idiot!?" Asuna yelled at me.

"I thought you're not into guild-sort of things, Kirito." Agil said confusingly.

"This is really a surprising turn of events..." Edgar muttered.

"Wha..what's so wrong with this!? I'm just trying to meet some of the people I knew there!" I said.

And then everyone was quiet, not knowing of what to say.

"...Um, so...can we get going now? Or do we need to wait for, I don't know, someone to start a fight again, or something?" I asked up, trying to ease the tension in the group.

"Aw, very funny, Kirito." Asuna punched me.

"HEY! THAT HURTS, DAMNIT!"

Asuna responded by just laughing at me.

"Okay, let us be on our way, then." Edgar said, and then we walked to the Teleport Gate at the center of the town.

Since the gate can only support two people teleporting at the same time, we must choose who will go first.

"You first, miss..." Edgar looked at Asuna.

"Call me Asuna..."

"Ah...the legendary Flash, right? A pleasure to meet you." Edgar said with a smile, which made Asuna blushed a little.

Looks like Edgar's somewhat an experienced player, seeing that he knew about mine and Asuna's titles and is also the leader of the arrogant HDA guild, I guess that's saying something about him.

Asuna walked to the gate, with me following.

"Ah, hell no! I won't go with you!" Asuna pushed me out.

"Wha? What's with you!?"

Agil walked in to take my place.

"I feel sorry for you, man, really..." He whispered to me, though I knew he's trying his hardest not to laugh.

_Damn..._

"Teleport: Grandum!" Asuna and Agil shouted up, and then disappeared in a bright flash of light.

There's only me and Edgar left now.

"So, tell me one thing, Kirito. Why did you become a solo player in the first place?" Edgar asked me.

"I don't really know an answer to that..." I admitted.

"That girl, Asuna, she said that you think about teamwork as something that 'will only slow you down'. Is that really what you think, Kirito?"

"It's...it's not exactly true..." I said.

"I just thought that if I join a guild, then I must take care of my fellow members. I don't really know how to do that, because I've been solo-ing for so long. It's really not my style. And if I fail to protect my fellow guild members, then..."

I...can't...say it...

Edgar seemed to understand, he just nodded and continue speaking.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. Solo players aren't doing anything wrong. They just found that they're better off fighting alone. What matters is whether or not they're doing it for the right thing. Whether they fight to protect others, or for the sake of themselves. This isn't a video game anymore, it's a fight for survival, not just for ourselves, but for everybody else. That's why we need to work together, to win all of this and get out of this place alive, right?"

"Y...yeah." That was all I could respond.

"So, let's get going, shall we? Wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

Edgar walked into the Teleport Gate, and I followed.

"Teleport: Grandum!"

As soon as the word ended, everything went white.

* * *

Seconds later, I found myself at the city of Grandum, along with the rest of my companions.

"Whoa..."

Even though I heard about it before, I've never thought there's a giant city like this in this game.

If Aincrad were to have a capital city, then Grandum could fit the role perfectly.

It reminded me of the old pictures of Rome I saw during my history classes in the real world, only what I'm seeing here is the real deal. Heck, there's even a replica _Coliseum _here!

"Took you guys long enough, what's keeping you!?" Asuna said in an annoyed voice.

"Just...little chat about guilds, that's all." I said.

Asuna stared at me, like she think I'm hiding something from her, but then shook her head.

"So, are we get going now? or shall I give you a tour around the city first?" Asuna gave me a mischievous smile.

"Very funny, Asuna."

And so, we went on our way, to the Knights of the Blood Oath Headquarters on the outskirt of the city.

Part of me feel happy to know that I'll see the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild, the sole reason I'm here, again, but another part of me feel afraid.

_What would they think of me when I go back?_

Will I be accepted again? Will I be forgiven? Or will I be kicked out and cursed by them?

Only time will tell.

* * *

**Editor's note: Well, another chapter finished. What a day!**

**In this chapter, I've introduced one new OC. Commander Edgar of the Holy Dragon Alliance. I've planned him to be some sort of like Heathcliff. A reasonable and effective leader with hidden depths. Maybe a foil to him, as well, seeing that they're both commanders of their respective guilds, which also happened to be rivals to each other. If you've read a novel called Wuthering Heights by Ellis Bell (Emily Bronte), you'll probably know why I choose Edgar to be his name. FOR THE SAKE OF REFERENCE, MY FRIENDS! (Evil laugh) **


	4. Reunion

Surprisingly, despite the size of the city, it didn't take very long from the center of Grandum to the city outskirts.

We've passed by a couple of forts during our travel to the KBO HQ, with a about a dozen NPC guards each. Grandum's a big city. It's logical that they need every guard they can get to keep the peace inside the city, especially during chaotic times like this where guild battles could come up at anywhere, anytime.

Normally, NPC guards wouldn't do anything except standing still at their posts. Sometimes they are part of some quests or participate in some special events in which they were part of. For example, by rare circumstances, monsters storming the city, where they will help the local defenders to defend the city, something like that.

Even I have to admit that it's pretty much suicidal for anyone to stir up a fight inside the city. With all the guards here, chances are you'll ended up locked inside a local prison for a week if you try to do something incredibly stupid.

After ten more minutes, we've finally arrived at the KBO headquarter. It's a huge, steel, mediaval-era castle.

"Whoa, it's so large!" Agil exclaimed.

"It took us a whole year to finally bought this place. We almost went broke after that! But it was worth it. It's not too far from the frontline _and_ a good level grinding dungeon." Asuna explained.

"Why do you need such a big castle for, anyways? Wouldn't a simple, large enough villa do?" I asked.

"Hey, we have over thirty members to take care of here! Even the largest villa can't hold all of them! Before this, we had a small house on the thirty-ninth floor, but it was too small as we get more members. And they all earned their ranks in the guild, you know? Of course, they need a little luxury in return. Besides, it's close to the frontlines and numerous quest givers inside the city." Asuna glared at me.

"I'm not saying it was a bad thing! I was just...isn't it a bit too...extravagant?"

Asuna didn't answer.

We walked up to the front gate, with two guards in KBO knight armor standing in front of it.

"Welcome back, vice commander Asuna!" The first guard welcomed, then noticed Edgar standing behind us.

"Wait, that's the HDA paladin! Arrest him!" He shouted up, and he and the other guard drew their swords up, causing Edgar to step back a bit.

"Stand down, Cecil! He's with me. He has a business with our leader." Asuna ordered.

The guard, Cecil, gave a slightly confused look, before lowering his sword.

"If you say so, vice commander..." Cecil said, then opened the entrance for us.

"Well, that went rather well..." Edgar sighed.

We walked inside the headquarter. It was very spacious. The hallway is decorated in a Gothic-mediaval style blended in with some of the Renaissance-era arts (Or at least, that's what I thought...).

I looked around to find, well, you know exactly who I'm looking for, but there's no sign of them...

The other KBO knights stared at us curiously, some of them readily prepared their weapons after seeing Edgar, but none dared to do anything when Asuna gave them a death glare.

She really earned her place as a vice commander here, didn't she? There's not many players in the game that can have that much respect.

Asuna led us to a middle-sized chamber, with sofas and a coffee table in the middle. My guess is that this place is a guest room.

"Alright, you guys wait here, I'll check up with my commander to see if he's available, and please don't do anything stupid, okay? It'll be the worst mistake you'll ever make..."

Asuna gave us a warning, before she left the room.

"Whew! This sofa's awesome! I can sit here all day!" Agil said, while making himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Don't get too comfortable, Agil. Anyways, didn't you tell us that you're here because some KBO members asked for a rare spear?" I told him.

"Hey, gimme a break, man! It's not like I got that rare spear out of thin air or something! I spent a whole precious week trying to get this damn thing from one bastard merchant on the twenty-fourth floor. Let me rest a bit, I'll find him later..." He said miserably.

"Speaking of which, do you have any powerful swords for sale, Agil? I've been looking for a new sword for a while." I said.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Around November last year, five months after I left the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild, I've been given an unique skill. I don't really know how I got it, it just appeared out of thin air. The skill itself is named 'Dual Blades' which is, true to its name, allowed me to wield two swords at a time, which is proved to be very useful in combat.

Except that I didn't use that skill regularly in battle, after I mastered the skill last January. I never use it in presence of others, because I'm afraid that it'll draw too much attention. I didn't know how I got the skill, nor the requirements of it, I just _got _it out of nowhere. So if people asked me and I don't have an answer for them, they'll just assume that I'm a selfish asshole for not sharing the knowledge (which I don't have), seeing that I'm a Beater and all...

Another reason is that I just can't find a good sword to match my Elucidator. My last sword is a total joke compared to it. So I mainly kept my skill a secret. There's no one except me that knew I possessed this skill.

It's a logical, I'm a solo player. The less anyone knew about me, the better...

Agil scratched his head, which is weird, because he has no hair...

"Um, I don't really have swords in my shop, Kirito. Mainly I sell the heavy weapons and quest-based items. Maybe you could find a good weaponsmith inside Grandum. It'a big city, after all. There's bound to be someone that sells a great sword that could suit you." Agil told me.

"I have a collection of rare swords back at my HQ, Kirito, but seeing that your sword pretty much beats all of them in terms of attack damage, I'd say you need a better sword than them..." Edgar said.

"Why do you even need a new sword anyways? Isn't your Elucidator strong enough to defeat anything the moves?" Agil asked.

"It's strong enough for the first fifty floors, Agil. It's gonna take more than that if I ever going to finish this game alive." I told him.

It's true, Elucidator never failed me in any situation, but it's getting outdated now since I arrived at the sixty-seventh floor. The damage is getting lower, and the monsters are harder to hit, despite my high level.

Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to use my Dual Blade skill no matter how much I don't want to, unless I found a better sword first.

Suddenly, the room's doors opened.

"...Kirito...kun?"

Oh, hell.

Sachi, along with the rest of the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild, stood at the door, eyes widen in shocked.

Awkward silence.

"Um...hi?" I blurted out.

Sachi's face saddened, as if she's going to cry.

I can't tell her expression. Is it happy? Sad? Or disbelief?

"Yo! Kirito! Long time no see! Where the hell have you been?!" Keita, who I've just noticed, said cheerfully.

He then walked up to me and offered to shake my hand, which I do so reluctantly.

"You left without even saying goodbye! I have to spent a whole evening comforting Sachi-chan about that!"

I don't know what to reply.

"...um...I..."

Keita walked back to his friends.

"Anyways, since you're here, you'd better apologize to Sachi for making her like that, Kirito! Oi! Sachi, say something to Kirito, will you?" He pushed Sachi out toward me.

Sachi stared at me, still stunned.

"Um...Ah...Eh...Kiri...Kya!" She tried to say something, but ended up babbling. I could tell she didn't know what to say, just like me.

Somehow that makes her really cute.

Wait! What am I thinking!?

I looked behind her at the rest of the guild. Tetsuo and Sasamaru were still there, as well as three others that I didn't know of, two girls and one boy.

Sasamaru smiled nervously at me, while Tetsuo gave me a somewhat frustrated look. I could tell he's still angry at me about...that day.

"I'm...I'm glad to see you...Sachi. I'm glad to see all you guys..." I said, trying to cheer her up.

The blue-haired girl looked up at me, then she did the unthinkable.

She lunged toward me, and hugged me tightly.

"Wha! Wait a sec!" I yelled.

"Kirito, you dummy! Why did you leave us!? I was very scared when you left us that day! I thought...I thought I was never gonna see you again!" She cried out, her voice trembled. She seemed like she's about to cry.

I...I didn't prepare for this...

I did the only thing I could; I embraced her.

"Sachi..."

I patted her back, slowly and gently.

"There, there. I'm here now..."

I tried to figure out a word to say, but just couldn't.

Keita walked up next to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"She almost break down after she told me what happened in the dungeon that day..."

I looked at Keita, his face saddened.

"I...I still can't believe Ducker's...gone..."

"It's...it's my fault..." I spoke up.

"I let him die...I'm...I'm sorry..."

Before I continued, Keita gave me a pat on the back.

"Hey, don't blame yourself! It's...it's partly my fault, too. I should've gone with you guys, remember? Maybe I could've stop him before he triggered the trap."

"But...but it should be my responsibility, too! I could've warn him, but I did nothing! I have the knowledge of the place, but I didn't tell you guys! I didn't even tell you the fact that I'm..."

"...a Beater." Keita continued.

I was stunned.

"Sachi told me everything about you, Kirito, about how you saved her, Sasamaru and Tetsuo from that trap, about how she discovered the truth behind your level. You used your far more superior skill as a Beater to save them from that deadly trap. Even if you couldn't save Ducker, you saved the rest of us. Hadn't you been there, all of them would've been gone that day, and...I...I wouldn't have any reason to live anymore without them...For all I care, you saved us, Kirito." Keita said.

"I..."

Sachi finally let me go and stood beside Keita. I looked at her face, at least she wasn't crying now.

"Em...if you guys don't mind, we'll...sit here, okay?" Agil's voice came from behind me, I almost forgot that he and Edgar were in the room, too.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't see you guys back there! Your friends, Kirito?" Keita asked.

"Sort of, yeah..." I finally managed to say something. "We're having some business with the KBO."

"Hey, only _us_ did. You just tag along because you wanted to see your friends, aren't you?" Agil reminded me.

"Ah, right. Anyways, what are you guys doing here?" I asked Keita.

"Um, we were trying to ask for some assistance from the KBO. Recently, we've accepted a quest that can't be finish without a certain quest item, which is now in possession of the KBO." He explained.

"So, what make you so sure they're just gonna give it to you? They're gonna expect something in return."

Keita looked back at Tetsuo. He nodded, before continued.

"The quest's reward is a set of extremely rare and powerful weapons, something which might benefit greatly to someone who knows how to use them. We made a deal with the KBO that we'll give them half of the weapons received after we finish the quest. They can take whichever they liked, and we will keep the rest."

"But...that means you'll have to give up all the best weapons to them!" I argued. This quest is starting to interest me. I'm in need of a new sword already.

"We have no choice. The quest can't be cancelled, and we can't do this alone. At least we can still get something from it, as well as experiences" Keita said.

"What's the quest item, anyways?" I asked.

"It's actually a set of quest items. They're called the Marks of Swordsmen. There are five which is needed in completing the quest. We already got the Mark of Scimitar, the Mark of Broadsword. The KBO's in possession of the Mark of Rapier, and we don't know the location of the last two marks."

"Um, if I may speak something..." Edgar interrupted. "Recently, my guild members 'borrowed' some of rare or quest-based items from other players, and the guild is now in possession of numerous items. I believe I have once heard of one such mark. The Mark of Saber. Could it be one of the marks you're looking for?"

"Yeah! That's the one!" A young girl behind Sasamaru shouted up, before realized that she just made herself the center of attention.

"Sorry..." She backed down and retreated behind Sasamaru, who then started to make fun of her.

"Ah, I haven't introduced our new members yet! Sorry, Kirito! The girl there, her name is Lamia, our saber user." He pointed to the girl that blurted out a moment ago. She has a short, brown hair and gold eyes.

"Hi..." She just raise a hand from behind Sasamaru's back, and gave me cheerful smile.

"The other girl is our new javelin user. Her name is Izumi." He pointed at a young girl, no, she's not exactly a girl, she's a young woman with a twintail red-brown hair, as are her eyes. She just gave me a small smile and nodded at me.

"And finally, our newest member, Oren. A longsword user." He pointed at a boy who stood near Tetsuo. He's the shortest person in the group, even shorter than Sachi...

"Nice to meet you!" He waved his hand happily, a bright smile on his face, in contrast of Tetsuo's stoic one.

"Right, where did we left at...Oh, the Mark of Saber. Lamia said that it's one of the marks needed to complete the quest. Do you have it, mister...?" Keita looked at Edgar.

"Call me Edgar, and yes, my guild is currently in possession of that mark. I can give it to you, if you do something for us in return..." The HDA paladin said.

"And what would that be?" Keita asked.

"Well, since my guild has all the weapons they needed, you won't have to share the weapons received from the quest, however..." He stared at Keita, who's smiling, like he's saying _I'm not finished yet!_

"Recently, someone has been stealing items from my guild. We've currently have no clue of where to find thief, or, a group of thieves. What I'm asking is, I wanted your help in tracking down the thief and take our stolen items back from them."

"If you can find the thief, and recover our items, then it's a deal. However, if you can't, then I'm afraid I have to take whatever items you find from your quest to replace the stolen ones." Edgar finished.

"WHAT! But that way we'll be left with nothing!" Sasamaru yelled up.

"Hey, calm down! Let's just talk things over a bit!" Keita shouted.

"Why don't you ordered your paladins to track down the thief themselves, Edgar? You have plenty of them, aren't you?" I asked him.

"Well, you already witnessed how my paladins 'tracking down' the thief, Kirito. They're just too headstrong to listen for reasons. Besides, I needed every man I can get to clear the frontlines. Since our relationship with the KBO worsened, we have to rely on ourselves to clear the dungeons. I can't afford to send my men on 'small errands' like this, can I?" He grinned.

Looks like Edgar's more devious than I thought...

"I'll...I'll think about it, Mr. Edgar." Keita spoke up, before turning to me.

"So, about earlier, what do you think about joining our guild again, Kiri-"

The doors opened again, and Asuna burst in.

"Right! Heathcliff is ready to see you, Mr. Edgar. Wait, what are you guys doing in here?"

She just noticed the Black Cats of the Full Moon inside the room.

"Friends of yours?" She asked me.

"Um, you could say that..." I told her.

"Whoa, can't believe a bastard like you could find a friend here, that's new." She frowned, her arms crossed.

"A...Actually, he's our former guild member!" Sachi spoke up, surprising everyone.

"It's...it's been nearly a year ago. He saved us from a trap, we all owe him our lives." She continued.

"You're joking me. Kirito? Guild member? So what's with all that 'screw teamwork' stuff about!?" Asuna gave me a death glare, before turning to Edgar.

"Mr. Edgar, Heathcliff is waiting for you, that hallway, the second door on the left." She pointed to the hallway behind her.

"Thank you, Asuna." Edgar said, then walked out of the room.

Asuna then sat down on the sofa, opposite of Agil, who's making a bored face.

"Man, I feel like I'm the only one who shouldn't be here right now..." He sighed.

"Alright. So Heathcliff's approved of helping you guys solving the quest, but as long as you keep the end of your bargain. Now, tell me _your _story about how this Beater joined your guild, and Kirito, tell me _everything_, or I'll kill you." Asuna said, her eyes focused at me.

This is gonna be a hell of a day.

* * *

**Editor's note: First of all, SORRY for keeping you guys waiting! I was almost finishing this chapter when I realized that the original plot I made doesn't make any sense, so I had to rewrite almost all of it...So tired now...**

**Anyways, Kirito's finally reunited with the BCOF, but is still reluctant about rejoining the guild, as well as a new quest with a precious reward that everyone wants. How will this resolved in the end? Stay tuned!**

PS. Be sure to reread the second chapter. I've made a mistake about the timeline. It should be at least TEN months since Kirito left the BCOF. Because the Murder in the Safe Area incident happened around April, which made my previous timeline mute. (if it's been eight months since Kirito left the BCOF during June last year, then it should be February, while the events in this chapter is supposed to happen some time in April.) A little mistake that I won't be repeating again...trust me!


	5. Differing Thoughts

"So...you're trying to tell me that this idiot, the infamous Black Swordman, left your guild because he felt responsible for one of your members' death?" Asuna asked.

Damn it, who's she calling idiot!? I'm sitting right in front of her!

"It's not his fault. Ducker's death happened because he was too careless, even I have to admit that." Keita replied. "Besides, had Kirito not been there with the rest of my friends, they would've gone, too. He saved them."

Asuna sighed. "Damn it, Kirito. You quitted a guild just because a simple mistake like this!?"

"That 'mistake' you said cost the life of one of my friends, Asuna! I lied to them about my level while I'm supposed to be better than all of them! I should've been able to protect him! What point is there to join a guild if you can't even protect your guildmates!?" I snapped.

"Let me tell you something, Kirito. Since I joined the KBO, I've lost far more people that I've stopped caring." Asuna said coldly. "Every week or two, someone dies, either because of monster ambushes or the ridiculously overpowered bosses. Even if they're not my close friends, they're still our members. And technically, I'm one of the highest ranking officers, it should've been my job to protect them! And I failed!"

Her voice started trembling. I can sense the anger build up in her.

"Don't you think you're the only one who has to suffer, Kirito! You have no idea what I've been through!"

And then she angrily left the room, leaving me with Agil and the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

"Um...that went well?" Keita slowly said.

"She surely has a temper..." Agil said.

"Save it, Agil. Let's go find your contact, do your job and get outta here. There's nothing left for me to do here..." I told him.

"Wait!" Keita yelled. "You're not going with us!?"

"There's no need, Keita. Asuna and the KBO knights will be more than enough for you guys to finish the quest." I said.

"But...but we wanted you to come with us!" Sachi cried out.

"For what, Sachi? So I could let you all down again? I've failed you guys once, and I'm _not_ looking forward for the next time."

Everybody stayed silent.

Me and Agil then got up and left the room.

* * *

"Hey, Kirito. Don't you think that's a little too harsh on them?" Agil said while we're walking along the hallway.

"It's for the best. I'm a solo player, not team player, I just can't get along with them the way I wanted it." I explained. "Also, I'm a Beater. Who wants a Beater in their guild?"

"You just exaggerating things, man." Agil said. "What's wrong with Beaters? Because they cheated? Because they know stuffs that others don't? Well, if it helps in beating this goddamned game, it's not that bad, really."

"You don't understand, Agil. It's more than that. I'm supposed to be better. I'm supposed to be able to protect _all_ of them, and yet I let my overconfidence got the better of me. I let Ducker died, I could've saved him!"

"Nobody's perfect, Kirito, but at least you saved the rest." Agil continued. "What are you gonna do if you can't save any single one of them? Even that girl, Sachi?"

I didn't answer.

I can't bear the pain of losing her.

Yes, I did consider the possibility, the worst that could've happened. My friends dying left and right, Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru and...Sachi, while I hopelessly trying to cut down infinite amounts of monsters in a vain effort to protect them.

Keita will blame me for their deaths, and will probably go join them, and I can't do anything to stop him. With all your friends dead, what point is there to continue living?

That nightmare still haunted me every time I close my eyes.

It's really a miracle I managed to save most of them. Best of all, I managed to save Sachi.

I just...couldn't live with it if I let her died. I mean, I promised to protect her, for crying out loud! Poor girl's scared sick at the mere mention of the word Death. She really, _really_ doesn't want to die.

If she died...I...

How am I ever gonna live with myself?

"...Kirito? Kirito!? Hey! What's on your mind!?"

Agil shook my body, bringing me back.

"Wha?"

"Just listen!"

He pointed at the door next to him. It's a large, metal door.

I leaned myself against the door, and listened to the voices that came from behind it.

"...unacceptable! You of all people should know this more than anyone, Heathcliff!"

I heard a grumpy voice said, it's undoubtedly Edgar's.

"Save it, Edgar. I already told you that we _did not _steal your items. All of my subordinates are trained professionals. They wouldn't dare to do such dishonorable things. You should worry about you own soldiers, Edgar. They're not making our lives any easier."

Another calm voice replied. His voice sounded somewhat calm, yet intimidating.

"That's not the point. My soldiers _needed _items, Heathcliff, and badly. They'll do whatever it takes to get them, and even I can't stop them."

"That's why you should think twice before having such a big guild. You're one of the best players out there, Edgar, but not one of the best leaders."

Edgar didn't answer.

"Let's change the topic, Edgar. You're my friend. I don't want anything bad to happen between us. We both knew better than anyone that we won't have any luck beating this game if we don't work together."

"Like that will fool me." Edgar said angrily. "I'm tired of playing your twisted game, Heathcliff!"

This time, it was Heathcliff who stayed silent.

"Look, I don't care what you're thinking. It was fun at first, but not anymore. Did you see any of those players out there? What they had to go through!?"

Wha? What the hell is he saying!?

"It's time to stop this, Ka-"

Suddenly, before Edgar finished, my worst nightmare arrived.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU!? YOU IDIOT KIRITO!"

Asuna appeared out of nowhere, before punching me across the hall.

"AHHHHHH!"

Agil wasn't so lucky either, he landed head first not far from me.

Asuna walked up to us, before giving me a furious look.

"You maybe the high almighty Beater out there, Kirito, but here in this HQ, _I'm_ the boss, and everyone must listen to me, well, except my commander. So I meant it when I told you not to do something stupid!"

Damn it...this girl's so damn fast...

She struck me so swiftly. I never even saw her coming.

The metal door slowly opened, and Edgar walked out, along with another middle-aged man in a red cape.

"Oh, it was you, Kirito! What's with all the noise?" Edgar smiled, but his voice sounded somewhat nervous.

The man in the red cape, Heathcliff, isn't it? He stood silently and just staring at me.

Asuna turned toward him.

"I'm sorry for this, commander. They are our visitors and they don't mean any harm, please excuse them." She said.

Heathcliff smiled, something that I didn't expect from a man like him.

"I don't mind such trivial things, Asuna. In fact, I must say I'm happy to finally meet him."

He the approached me, before handed his hand out.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Black Swordsman. Kirito, isn't it? Your reputation preceded you." He greeted.

_Wha!?_

I shook my hand with him, then stood still, not knowing how to react.

"Ah...I...Er..."

"Calm down, young man. Why don't you come talk with me for a few minutes? I have much to discuss with you." Heathcliff said.

"I...I, er...Thank you for you offer, Mr. Heathcliff, but we're about to leave."

I said each word carefully, trying not to make someone mad or anything, but the sight of Asuna giving me a death glare doesn't help.

"Don't worry, I just wanted to talk a few things with you about your opinion on the situation, that's all."

I glanced at Asuna. She's speaking something, but quietly, behind Heathcliff. I tried to read her lip.

_Just go with him, or I'll kill you!_

Heh, I've got no choice, am I?

"Right, Agil, Mr. Edgar, you two go on ahead. I'll catch up with you all later." I told them.

"It's your call, Kirito." Edgar said. He looks worried somehow. "I'll wait for you outside."

I nodded, before walking in the room with Heathcliff.

* * *

"So, what are your thoughts about our guild, Kirito?"

Heathcliff began. He sat at his desk with a large, wide glass window behind him. The lights reflecting the windows gave me a rather chilling feeling.

"It was...rather impressive, sir. Your guild members are all so disciplined and skilled." I said.

Heathcliff nodded.

"Isn't it? I'm very proud of them myself. Now these are the men and women I could count my life on." He said.

"I've heard from my vice commander that you're an acquaintance of the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild?"

"Er...yes, sir. I was a former member."

"Hm, interesting."

Heathcliff stared at me curiously, somehow it's making me a little nervous.

"Why did you left them?" He asked.

Not this question again...

"I...I'll rather not talk about it, sir." I replied.

"It's alright..." Heathcliff sighed, before continue.

"The BCFM is a good example of an excellent guild, if you ask me. Its small size is not a hindrance at all, but rather make it easier to manage. Its members are all bonded to each other, as they're all close friends. Helping each other to level up, gain new items and share them together... We need more guilds like this." He explained.

"Keita's a great leader for his age, so there's not much to worry about, though he tended to get his guild in way over their heads sometimes, like that Marks of Swordsmen quest."

Yep, that's what I was thinking, but the prizes for completing it is just...

"That's one of their flaws, Kirito. Technically, they're still a low-ranking guild, but they tried to take up some difficult but rewarding quests, without caring for the risks they posed. It might not seem like a big problem, but even a little mistake can cost the entire guild's lives if they're not careful. This isn't a game anymore. Any mistake we make here can and _will_ be our last."

I somewhat agreed. I thought back about Ducker, and how his carelessness got the better of him and cost him his life in that dungeon.

_That one stupid item trap box in the middle of a secret room._

"How do you feel about it, sir?" It's my turn to ask.

"I beg your pardon?"

"About being trapped inside this game, sir. It's been two years since Kayaba Akihiko showed up at the official launch and trapping us all in here. How do you feel after all these time?"

Heathcliff didn't answer immediately. He stood up from his desk before looking outside the window, overlooking the lush green field outside.

"I don't really know, young man. All of these are supposed to be a video game. A video game where we could all played and relaxed after a long, tiring day. Instead, it became a death trap where we all must fight to survive. It's...shocked, you know?"

Heathcliff turned to face me, his face looking grim.

"Say, if somehow I _am_ Kayaba Akihiko, what do you think I'm feeling at this moment?"

Wha? What the hell is he saying!?

He's not actually telling me that he's Kayaba? _That_ Kayaba!?

That son of a bitch Kayaba Akihiko, the one who started all of this!?

Heck, screw his feelings! What rights does he have to play with our lives like this!?

"Well, sir, if you're really Kayaba Akihiko, then I don't care how you feel. I'd just wanted you to let us go, by force if I have to." I said angrily.

Heathcliff smiled.

"Do you really think you have what it takes to fight me, Kirito? If I really am Kayaba, then it means I'm the Game Master, the most powerful player in Aincrad. Do you really think you could beat a Game Master?"

I really hoped he's just joking with me. If he really is Kayaba, then I'll have to fight him eventually.

He's right in a way, though. What was I thinking? We're talking about the man who created this entire world. He's literally _god_! What chances do I have against him?

Even the best player in the game could only do as much as the game allowed. Kayaba, on the other hand, can change anything in the game to his will. Heck, he could make us all game over by only snapping his fingers if he wanted!

If he's the final boss, then we're already lost. It's a game over before it even begin.

"Do you know something about Kayaba Akihiko?" I asked.

Heathcliff stared outside again.

"All I know is that he's a somewhat depressing man. He devoted his life into creating Aincrad, this world, this...fantasy of his...a world with life and death balanced..."

So, he _did _know something about Kayaba, if he's not the man himself.

"Do you think Kayaba Akihiko is an evil man, Kirito?" He asked me.

Whoa.

"I...don't know, sir. It was just...I always admired him before I got into this game. All his achievements, his works, his determination, they're just...inspiring."

"And what do you think about him now, with everything he's done?"

"He's...if he did all of this, then yes, he's an evil man, sir. He's trapping thousands of people against their wills, and some of them died in this twisted game of his, sir! No matter how noble his reasons are, it still can't justify the fact that he's a murderous psychopath!"

"Couldn't say it any better myself, Kirito."

Silence.

"If there's something good I could say about Kayaba Akihiko after all this, is that he's brave enough to face the consequences." I continued. "With everything's he done, the whole world's gonna be on his tail. He's got nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape."

"Maybe he doesn't need escaping."

What did he just say?

"Think about it, Kirito. He's as much as a prisoner like the rest of us, in a game he himself created, no less! He trapped us all in this world, right? What happens if all of us are dead? With no players left, no one to win the game? What's he going to do now? He can't go back to the real world, because he'll get arrested, or be a man on the run for the rest of his life."

Heathcliff stared into the distance.

"Whatever he's feeling right now, I'm sure it's not a happy feeling..."

I stayed quiet, not because I don't know how to respond, but it's because there's no use saying them.

What Heathcliff said does make sense, Kayaba is trapped here, like me and everybody else. He got nowhere else to go except in here. He's trapped because of his own wrongdoing.

Why would a genius like Kayaba Akihiko do something like this? It makes no sense at all!

I can't imagine him being a killer, let alone a psychopath. That man in a white lab uniform, looking all smart and cool, I just can't picture him being a man like that! He's just a programmer, a _real_ good programmer, who's probably just depressed from his works and tried to play god in something he created.

Nevertheless, I don't give a rat's ass about his feelings. He's still a mass murderer, nothing can change that fact.

And one way or another, I'm stopping him and winning this godforsaken game of life and death.

"Do you have anything else to discuss?" Heathcliff asked again.

"Um, sir, about that quest the Black Cats of the Full Moon is doing right now, the Marks of Swordsmen, they told me that you'll be providing them with another Mark, in exchange for some weapons received from the quest, correct?"

Heathcliff nodded.

"Aside from the Mark, what else could you assist them in their journey?"

"I'll send one of my vice commanders, Asuna, to assist them. You probably knew her well, Kirito. She occasionally told me stories about you."

Oh crap...

"Well, she seems to get along fine with them, I'd say, but still having some problems adjusting into the guild. Seems like she's not quite used to being in a small, simpler guild. Her personality's just not made that way."

"She's always like that, Mr. Heathcliff." I said.

"And that's why I asked you here, Kirito. I wanted _you_ to assist her on this quest."

"WHAT!?"

Okay, this is _not_ funny at all!

"N-no way! That girl hated me to guts now, and you want me to go with her!?"

"You know her the longest, Kirito, and she seems rather fine with you. Please, do it as a favor to me, and to your friends in the BCFM. If you finish this quest along with Asuna, I promised I won't take half of their weapons received from the quest."

"And if I can't?"

"Well, your other choice is that you must join our guild."

WHAT THE HELL!?

He's insane!

"Does this mean I have no choice!?"

"There's always choices, Kirito. It's up to whether or not we will take our chances."

Heathcliff smirked.

Damn this son of a...

"...right, I give up, fine! I'll go with her on the quest!"

And with that statement, Heathcliff clapped his hand, and two of the KBO knights came into the room

"It is done, then! I thank you for your cooperation with the KBO, Kirito. I enjoyed our little talk together. I hope we will have a chance to meet again. Now, guards, escort this man to the guest room."

* * *

"It's great to finally have you back with us, Kirito!" Keita said.

I can't believe this is happening to me.

"This is AWESOME!" Sasamaru yelled up excitingly, before jumping up and down.

Sachi and the other girls in the guild laughed at Sasamaru's childish behavior.

And then, our eyes meet again.

"Um...looks like I'm back here." I said.

"Y-yeah!" Sachi gave a short reply, before turning away from me. I could see that she's blushing red.

_Whoa..._

I looked at my right, Asuna is walking next to me, and she's clearly upset.

"Why the hell did the commander asked _you_ to come with me!?" She complained.

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to be here myself!"

"Just shut up!"

Heh, what have I got myself into...?

Agil was waiting for us in the main hall, and he's not looking very happy at all.

"Damn that bastard! What a waste of time!" He grunted.

"What's wrong, Agil?" Keita asked.

"My customer! He's nowhere to be found! Now who am I gonna deliver the spear to!?"

"Wait, who's your customer?" I asked him.

"A KBO knight going by the name of Balthazar, but when I asked the other knights about him, they said that there's no such person with that name in here!"

"What?!"

Okay, what the hell's going on?

* * *

We walked outside, and found Edgar waiting for us.

"Took you guys long enough, eh?"

"Yeah...but we're finish now, let's just..."

Suddenly, I heard noises in the distance.

I turned to look, and saw no fewer than a couple dozen paladins approaching us.

_Holy Dragon Alliance Paladins..._

"Oh hell, this isn't gonna end well." Tetsuo remarked.

"Stay calm, I'll take care of this." Edgar said, before walking to the paladins.

The leader of the paladins is the same man I've battled this morning. Feron, isn't it?

"What's the meaning of this, Feron!? I ordered you and your friends to regroup at our HQ!" Edgar yelled.

Feron just ignored him, he ordered two of his subordinates to come forward, before raising up their swords.

_Oh crap!_

"Don't play dumb with me, old man! You knew about this all along, aren't you!?" Feron shouted.

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

Feron pointed his finger toward us, no, toward _Agil._

"That man's the thief, Edgar! He's the one who stole our spear a week ago! And he's delivering it to those KBO bastards!"

_WHAT THE FUCK!?_

I stared at Agil, he's also as confused as I am.

"Wha!? But I...I didn't steal that thing! I just got it from a merchant on the twenty-fourth floor!"

"LIAR!" Feron screamed. "My informant confirmed that it was you who stole our spear! And probably other items, too! You KBO thieves!"

"Listen, Feron, let's just stop this before someone gets hurt. Let's talk things over, first." Edgar slowly said, but Feron ignored him.

"ATTACK! GET THAT SPEAR BACK! CUT DOWN ANYONE THAT STAND IN OUR WAY!" He ordered.

And then the paladins charged at us.

* * *

**Editor's note: First of all, sorry for the very, very **_**late**_** update. My new university year just started, and I'm really, **_**really**_** busy. It's a miracle I managed to finish this chapter tonight after all.**

**Well, not much to say about this chapter. I've wrote it in a hurry, so it might contain some mistakes. Feel free to point them out! I'll correct them if I find some time. From now on, it's gonna be a while until the next chapter. :(**

**See you guys soon!**


	6. The Conflict Begins

I readied my Elucidator just in time to stop a blow from one of the paladins' mace.

"Go to hell, you bastard!" The paladin screamed as he tried to break through my defense.

He's pretty strong, far stronger than the rookies I've fought this morning.

Feron must've brought in only the best paladins. They're assaulting on their nemesis's fortress, after all.

Nevertheless, I managed to push him back. He struggled backward a bit but is still standing.

I glanced around. The others aren't so lucky. Only Asuna, Sachi, Keita, Agil and Edgar are still in the condition to fight, the others got overwhelmed by the assault and got KO-eds in less than a minute. It's pure luck that the area's still inside Grandum's city limits so it's still a safe zone, otherwise I can't imagine what will happen to them...

"Damn it, Feron! Stop this right now! This is an order!" Edgar yelled, but not one single paladin listen to him. He managed to drop a couple of paladins to the ground, but the others are still coming right at him.

"Your rule's over, old man! Today we're going to crush our enemy once and for all! The enemy you've tolerated for so long!" Feron declared.

"You're insane! We aren't your enemy!" Asuna shouted.

About a dozen KBO knights joined the battle a while later, bringing the battle to a standstill, but we're still outnumbered.

"We can't keep this up for long!" Keita started to panic. He can still hold his own all right, however, he's right. We're gradually losing.

"Somebody help me!" Sachi screamed. She managed to use what little strength she have and barely fending off one of the paladins, but two more quickly cornered her at the castle walls.

"This cutie's ours! Don't worry, girl! I won't hurt you! You'll make a nice prize to our guild!" I heard one of the paladins threatened her with a smirk on his face.

_You're not doing this to her, you asshole!_

I quickly moved to protect Sachi. The two paladins are still distracted by her so they can't see me coming.

I used all of my might and send my sword into the paladin on the right, sending him flying into the other guy and into the castle wall itself, knocking them both out cold.

"DON'T! YOU! DARE! DO! THIS! TO HER!" I screamed.

"YAAAAAA!" One of the larger paladins tackled Agil away with ease. His HP's down to only one thirds of the bar.

Damn it!

"Asuna! Tell your men to retreat back inside the castle! They'll stand a better chance in there! We're leaving!" I yelled to Asuna, who's fighting against Feron himself.

"I'M A LITTLE BUSY HERE, YOU IDIOT!"

Ah hell...

"Agil! Your HP's almost gone! Take the Black Cats out of here! I'll cover you guys!"

I told Agil, who's recovering from his wound while barely fending off the large paladin from earlier.

"Leave it to us, Agil! You guys must get out of here!" Edgar moved in and use his shield to bash the large paladin away.

Agil know his job. He quickly disengage from the battle and moved to the downed Black Cats. He, Sachi and Keita carried the unconscious players away while me, Edgar, Asuna and the rest of the KBO knights fend off the ever-coming HDA paladins.

"They just keep on coming!" One of the knights shouted.

"That's right, you asshole! We're coming to take back what's ours!" One of the paladins yelled furiously, before tackling the unlucky knight to the ground.

Edgar did the best he could to protect the KBO knights, some of the paladins hesitated to fight their former commander, but nevertheless joined the ones loyal to Feron in the attack. I myself went to help Asuna in fighting Feron.

Feron seemed to notice that with me joining in, he'd stand no chance, so he whistled, and about half dozen paladins come in to take his place as he retreated behind them.

"You're not getting me that easily, suckers!" He taunted.

"YOU COWARDLY ASSHOLE! WHY DON'T YOU COME FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!?" Asuna snapped. She desperately tried to fight her way through the paladins, but is clearly outnumbered. Even her lighting fast move did her a little help.

"Don't be stupid, Asuna! You can't fight through all of them on your own!" I yelled at her while blocking the oncoming attack from the paladins.

Damn it, this is getting way out of my hands.

"Out of my way, Kirito! I'm gonna get that bastard!" Asuna shouted back. She's clearly out of her mind!

One of the paladins approached us from behind, and prepare to strike his spear at her.

"WATCH OUT!"

I rushed at Asuna and push her away just in time,

but I'm not as lucky.

"UGH!"

The spear skewered into my body, sending a painful shock throughout it.

_GODDAMNIT! IT HURTS!_

My HP bar's dropping fast.

_50%...32%...18%_

And then it stopped at 10%...

The fact that I can't be killed inside the safe zone makes it even more painful than it already is. I can't die, but I can still feel the pain, the ever-coming pain from the spear deep inside my body.

"You're toast, you bastard!" The paladin screamed in victory.

My vision's blurred. I can't see anything at all.

_Shit...what's happening to me?_

Suddenly, I feel something.

When I realize, the spear isn't in my body anymore.

_Wha?_

"...He's crushing us!..."

I heard voices. Must be the paladins' voices. They sounded panicked.

"...too strong!..."

"...get out of here!..."

"...retreat!...retreat!..."

I tried my best to open my eyes. I saw the paladins all running away, including Feron.

The KBO knights are chasing them back, leading by a man in a shining red armor wielding a large shield and long sword.

At that point, my whole body's give away.

I fell onto the ground, and the pain engulfing me once again.

I looked up, and saw a figure standing over me. The man in the red armor.

"Don't worry, young man. You're alright now..."

That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

* * *

"...Kirito!...Kirito!?..."

Voices?

"...Oh god...please, don't do this to me, Kirito!..."

Who?

"...He's regaining consciousness! Give him more potion!..."

"...Calm down! We already use three of them! It's more than enough..."

I...

My eyes slowly opened.

"...Wha?"

The first person I saw is...Sachi.

"Sachi? Wha...what's..."

Suddenly, she hugged me tightly.

"Oh god, Kirito! Don't scare me like that again!"

She banged her right fist on my shoulder in frustration.

"Ouch! My body's still hurt, Sachi!"

"Kyah! Ah...I'm sorry!"

She quickly backed away from me.

I smiled. Heh, she's so cute when she's angry.

"Looks like our friend's alright now, eh?"

I looked to my left. Keita's standing there, along with the rest of the Black Cats, smiling happily.

"Where am I?"

I glanced around. I'm in a canyon of some sort. Tall cliff walls stood above me.

"Heh, you're still alive, huh?" A familiar female voice spoke.

I looked to my right, and saw none other than Asuna.

"Well, we're in Grandium Canyon, not too far from my HQ. After that stunt you pulled back there, we had to drag you all the way here!" She explained, with a little smirk on her face.

"This is all thanks to my commander, you know!? He came to your rescue with reinforcements and finally drove those paladins away."

"Your commander? You mean Heathcliff?"

"Of course you idiot! Who else could it be!?"

Heh. Looks like he's not so bad after all.

Asuna crossed her arm, before turning her face away in disappointment.

"...thanks for saving me, by the way." She slowly spoke, her face turned a bit red. She's blushing.

Huh? So she can really blush? Hah...

Anyways, what the hell should I do now?

"Where's Edgar? He's not here." I asked.

Keita shook his head.

"After the fight, the KBO took him in as prisoner. Although he did nothing wrong, Heathcliff insisted that Edgar should stay at the HQ as a bargaining chip. Since what Feron did is basically seizing power from him, there's no point for him to return home, so he agreed to stay there peacefully while trying to find a way out of all this." He explained.

"But the damage's still done. The tensions between my guild and the HDA have never been this high, and unless there isn't a truce soon, a guild war is inevitable." Asuna added.

I turned to face Agil, who's still has a confusing look on his face.

"Is what Feron said true, Agil? Did you steal that spear from them?" I asked.

"I told you! I got that spear from a merchant a week ago! I didn't steal it! Why is nobody believing me!?" Agil snapped.

"Hey! Nobody's blaming you on anything, Agil! I know you. You're not a man like that!"

"But...but I'm technically the one who started all this mess! If the KBO and the HDA ended up fighting each other, it's all my fault!"

His voice is trembling. I can understand the poor man's feeling. His actions unintentionally caused a guild war. Who's to say he's not shocked by all of this?

"Calm down, Agil! If Kirito trusted you, so will us!" Izumi, one of the three new Black Cats members, said.

"Yeah. I don't think you're a bad man, uncle Agil!" Another new member, Oren, the shortest person in the group, and probably the youngest, said.

That statement actually cheered Agil up somehow.

"Hey! I'm not old enough for you to call me uncle yet, you little...!" He grunted.

And then we all share a great laugh together, for once in this miserable day.

"So...what are we gonna do now?" I asked.

"We're going to find out who did all this and stop it," Keita replied. "Starting by investigating about the merchant on the twenty-fourth floor Agil mentioned. If he's the one who sold Agil the spear, then he must've stole it from the HDA."

"And it'll probably linked to true thief and the rest of the stolen items." Tetsuo added.

"What about your quest? The Marks of Swordsmen?"

"We're still missing two Marks." Lamia, another new member of the Black Cats, answered. "One is the Mark of Saber, which is currently in possession of the HDA guild. Without Edgar, the only chance we'll have at getting that Mark is to gain back their trust. It'll be suicide for us to sneak into their guild and steal it back."

"And the only way we could gain their trust back is to find the thief and return the stolen items to them." Keita continued. "That way, we could complete Edgar's request as well."

"Nice plan." I said. "So, shall we get a move now? This is outside of safe zone's area, right? If the HDA finds us here, I may not get a second chance like this again."

"Yeah, the sooner we pull this off, the better." Asuna added. "I just can't stand being here with you, you idiot Kirito!"

Heh, that's what she said.

And so, we set off, to a new journey, to an unknown future.

* * *

**Editor's note: Another chapter down! Heh, this is a good pace for me. One week, one chapter. That way, I won't be crushed under the ever-growing college works! :(**

**Okay, first of all, if any of you are saying something like "Safe zones don't work that way!" or "There aren't such rules/systems in SAO!" I'll ignore them. This is fanficiton, right? And I did mention in the title, Sword Art Online: 'ALTERNATE STORY'. It's not the same as in the anime or the light novels. If you don't like, then don't read it, okay? I'm not saying this because I'm mad or anything. You are all free to criticize me about my work, but all those above mentions will be ignored as I've stated. Got it?**

**Well, next chapter coming next week! Just like waiting for the subs, eh? LOL**


	7. New Friends

In the afternoon, we arrived at the twenty-fourth floor with no major incidents.

Well, not exactly.

On the way back to the city, we got harassed by some monsters in the canyon, the 'Desert Jackals', those annoying scavengers kept attacking us every three minutes or so, and in packs, for crying out loud! It's lucky that they are not so dangerous, everyone in our party can handle them all just fine, and they're also giving us some good EXPs to level up.

I caught a glimpse of Sachi's current level after she successfully leveled up. Her level is now 38. A good progress, I'd say, since the last time I saw her ten months ago.

She's getting better and better at fighting, although sometimes she's still unsure of what to do in battle. Her fear of dying tends to get the better of her sometimes, like back at the fight at the fortress, but really, we were outnumbered at that time and our opponents are much more skilled than your every day field monsters. With me assisting her most of the time, she has no problems in fighting at all.

Wha, it's not like I'm helping her out because I like her or anything!

I'm just...well, I _did_ promise to protect her, right?

Damn it, it's been ages when I think about it.

I left her...I left the Black Cats because I thought I couldn't keep that promise.

_To hell with that promise._

That's what I thought about it at that time.

So why the hell am I even here?

Damn it, just...to hell with it all.

I'm just gonna finish this mission, then leave them for good.

I'm a solo player. I'm **the **solo player.

Solo means no to guilds, or any teamwork-related thing.

It's just not my style at all.

As long as they don't do something incredibly stupid, the Black Cats can hold their own just fine.

And the large guilds will probably do all the work to clear the floors. All they have to do is just trying to stay alive until somebody clears the game, if it could be cleared at all.

Better have some fun while it lasted. This is a video game, after all.

To each their own, I think.

* * *

After some time, we arrived at a hill overlooking a large green field with lakes and mountains in the distance. Kinda reminded me of some pictures of Switzerland I've seen on the internet.

"So, Agil. Where's the place you met that slippery bastard, anyways?" I asked.

Agil pointed to the north of us, at a medium-sized town in front of us.

"That town over there. Its name is Mayfair. Not much of a bustling place nowadays since all the stuffs' happening in big cities like Grandum. Still, a nice, quiet place if you ask me." Agil explained.

"About nine days ago, I got a request from a man called Balthazar. He's supposedly the KBO knight I mentioned before. He wanted me to deliver this spear for him." He added, before opening his inventory window and selecting the spear he's talking about.

"Whoa..." Keita blurted out after seeing the spear itself.

The spear itself is about twice the length of my Elucidator. Its sharp head is made of a rare iron, probably Obsidian, which shines brightly when reflecting the light from the sun. The handle itself is even decorated by glossy textures.

"And then two days later..." Agil continued. "Someone, probably Balthazar's contact, sent me the information about the merchant currently in possession of the spear, and it leads me to that town."

"May I?" I asked. Agil just nodded before handing the spear to me.

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of spears at all. Actually, anything that isn't a sword won't get on my interest list. This game is called Sword Art Online, for god's sake! Why would this game have anything else other than swords anyways?

But I can't deny that this spear's pretty _damn _awesome.

It's surprisingly light for a weapon made with such material. I tried practicing some moves with it. Even a non-spear fans like me have no problems using it at all. Its long lengths means it's more effective in attack enemies before they could get close to you, and its flexibility means you could perform quicker moves.

This thing is nothing short of perfect. Guess that's why the HDA wanted it back so badly.

"Wow, never realized you're a spear fan, Kirito." Sasamaru said.

"I'm not!"

"But I must admit you do look pretty cool using it, Kirito!" Izumi said.

I'll rather stick with the swords, thank you very much.

I turned my attention to the spear once more, and look at its name.

_Fierce Dragon_

Heh, a suitable name, indeed.

"Well, whoever's the real owner of this spear, he's one lucky bastard." I commented.

"Yeah, no kidding, and it's worth _killing_ us over if it means he can get it back." Agil said miserably.

"So, shall we go to the town right now?" Keita asked.

I stared down the hill. There's a forest standing in the path leading to the town, and there's a giant lake and mountain ranges on both ends of the forest, meaning we'll have to cut straight through it to reach the town. There's no alternative routes.

"We'll have to cut straight through the forest." Tetsuo said. "Maybe it's better if we take some rest. We've been fighting all morning, right?"

"About time somebody says this. My legs' going numb." Asuna complained. I almost forget that she's in the guild as a 'temporary member', too.

And with that, we all made a temporary camp and rest.

* * *

"Hey Asuna, could I get more sandwiches, please? They're very delicious!" Sasamaru spoke.

"No way! You're eating too much!" Asuna replied, before pulling the bag of sandwiches away from Sasamaru, who desperately tried to reach for it.

"But you gave _half_ of them to Kirito! That's unfair!" He protested.

"T-That's none of your business! I did that because he protected me at the fortress! You didn't do anything to earn this, you idiot!" Asuna yelled out, before turning her face away, blushing.

Well, er...about that...

Never mind! Her sandwiches' actually pretty delicious like Sasamaru said. I swear, I could sit and eat them all day.

"Hey, Kirito?" Sachi spoke.

"Yes, Sachi?"

"Would you...mind if you try some of my...homemade grilled chickens?" She asked shyly.

Well, sure, why not?

I grabbed one of the chickens Sachi offered me and putting it in my mouth.

Um, it's not bad, not bad at all.

A little spicy, but it tasted nice, the meat's very tender, easy to bite, and...wait...

_Oh my god._

"H-how did it tasted like?" Sachi asked excitingly.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

_This is..._

"THIS IS HEAVEN!" I yelled out. "SACHI! YOUR CHICKENS IS DA BEST!"

"REALLY!?"

Sachi's eyes widen. She smiled happily, cheering.

Oh man, Sachi's chickens' just 100% made of awesome!

A few more of these, and I'm ready to take on the entire HDA guild, seriously!

"Hey, hey! Don't forget about my sandwiches, you idiot! I swear, I'll kill you if you leave even one tiny piece of it!" Asuna said frustratingly. I could see it on her face, she's _jealous_.

Oh crap.

"So, Kirito..." Keita blurted out. "I haven't properly introduce our new members to you, right? We got cut short back at the fortress and...since you'll be staying with us for a while, I think you'd better get to know them!"

And then Keita looked at the short brown hair girl sitting across him, Lamia.

"Let's start with you first, Lamia!"

Lamia nodded, before gave me a smile.

"Nice to meet you again, Kirito-san! My name's Lamia! I'm the guild's saber user!" She said happily.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Lamia!" I replied. Lamia's kinda reminded me of Silica, the young beast tamer I once helped revived her pet dragon. "So, what's your story prior joining the guild?"

Lamia's smile faded a bit.

"Um...I don't really want to talk about it, Kirito-san." She said.

"Hey, it's okay! You don't have to tell me." I quickly told her. She must have a rough time in the past, I'm sure.

"N-no, no! Not at all! It was just..this isn't my first guild I've joined, Kirito-san..." She said, her face saddened.

"Not your first guild? So you joined another guild once before, but quitted?" I asked.

"I didn't quit that guild, Kirito-san. It's just that they...they..." Lamia struggled. She took a deep breath, before continue.

"They were all killed fighting the thirty-fourth floor boss, Kirito-san. I'm the only survivor..."

_WHAT!?_

Lamia's...a sole survivor...from her previous guild.

"That...that couldn't been easy, Lamia." I said slowly, trying not to upset her.

"It's...don't worry about me!" I'm okay now, Kirito-san!" She waved her hands, before gave me another nervous smile.

But I'm sure she's not _okay_ at all.

Losing her entire guild...that's a very traumatic experience for anyone.

I've almost got into one myself, and barely managed to prevent it, but she...

_She had to go through it_..._that horror experience even I dreaded._

Keita seemed to notice that Lamia's in no state to continue further, and quickly nodded to Izumi.

"Right Izumi, it's your turn now!"

Izumi turned to look at me. The red-headed twintail woman gave me a little smile.

"Nice to meet you, Kirito. My name is Izumi Misaki, a javelin user." Izumi introduced herself in full name. Didn't expect that. Formal, but so unusual...

"I take it you're an experienced player, Izumi-san." I said.

Izumi just giggled.

"Not really, you've already seen how well I'm doing in combat back at the fortress. I couldn't even last a minute against those paladins."

"They were all elites, and we were outnumbered at that time, Izumi. You just couldn't take on everyone by yourself. Besides, I think a javelin's not exactly a crowd-clearing weapon."

"Heh, good point." Izumi said. "I preferred to fight my enemies one-on-one. I like things up close and personal."

Whoa, this girl's starting to scare me.

"So, how did you get here?"

Izumi chuckled. "I don't really know, either. It was just three months ago. I was wondering around on the forty-second floor when I heard about the Black Cats accepting new members. Back then, I was getting bored doing the same stuffs every day. Going out, hunt some monsters, level up, eat and sleep, so I decided to join the guild to have some fun." She explained.

So, that means she must have some experiences as a solo player like me. Heh, we could team up nicely.

"Okay. Oren, it's your turn now!" Izumi glanced at Oren, who's busy finishing up his pork chop.

"...Um...yummy...ah, what did you say again?"

Izumi just facepalmed.

"Ah, yeah! Nice to meet you, Kirito-san!" Oren smiled.

"Uh...nice to meet you, too?" I said nervously.

"I've heard stories about you, Kirito-san! You're that _badass_ Beater everyone's talking about! You're the best, man! I wanna be like you someday!" He yelled out excitingly.

"Heh, looks like someone got a fanboy here." Asuna teased.

Damn it, you shut up!

"I've been getting better and better at using my longsword, Kirito-san! Maybe I could be your sidekick?!"

"Ah...maybe, Oren. Maybe..." I said. Heh, this boy's crazy.

"So what's the story between you and the Black Cats, Oren?"

"Ah! Er...well! I joined the Black Cats because they once helped me doing a quest! So, in return, I'm joining the guild!"

"Uh huh."

Right, I guess that's all of them.

"Okay. It's nice to meet all three of you." I said. "I'm sure you'll all make great additions to the Black Cats."

All three of them gave me smiles in response.

"Right! I think we've rested long enough. Let's get to the town!" Keita announced.

"Yeah, let's get there before it gets dark." Agil said. "I want to find that merchant as fast as possible."

"Who's the merchant, anyways?" I asked. "You haven't told me his name yet."

"I don't know, either. I didn't ask for his name." Agil replied.

"Oookay. Don't worry, we'll find you your merchant, Agil."

And with that, we all set out down the hill, into the forest.

* * *

**Editor's note: So, no actions in this chapter, just merely explaining some backgrounds to my three new OCs. If you ask me, I think I wasn't doing such a good job about it, really. I was really sleepy...**

**Well, nothing more. Next week, next chapter, as usual!**

**PS. I got the spear's name, _Fierce Dragon, _from Zhao Yun's ultimate weapon from the video game Dynasty Warriors. LOL**


	8. System Update

"Could somebody tell me why the hell are we walking inside this godforsaken forest for an hour and _still_ haven't reach the town!?" Asuna yelled out frustratingly, and for once, I agreed with her.

This is _way_ too far. It shouldn't have taken more than half an hour from the hill we rested earlier to Mayfair.

"Did it was like this the last time you went through here, Agil?" I asked Agil, who looked just as confused as me.

"Something's wrong." Agil said. "It wasn't supposed to be this long."

"Thanks for telling the obvious!" Asuna complained.

"Either that, or we're lost in the woods." Keita said.

I glanced around. There is nothing but trees in sight. The sun's starting to go down.

"Wait, I got a new message." Tetsuo said, before opening his message window.

"Now's not really the time to check the message, Tetsuo..." Sasamaru said, but Tetsuo just kept staring at the message, his eyes that always seem to stay shut opened wide.

"Wha!? What the hell is this!?" Tetsuo shouted.

"What's happening?"

"L-look at this message!" He pointed to the message window in front of him.

Suddenly, the 'message alert' window popped up in front of me.

"Hey, I just got a new message, too!" I said.

"Me, too." Keita added.

"We all got a new message." Agil said.

"B-but what's the meaning of this? We all got a new message at the same time." Sachi asked.

"And they are all the same message, look at the sender's name." Izumi replied.

I looked at the message's name:

_(NEW) Message No. 20, Sender: SAO Administration, Subject: Patch 1.01 Update_

What's the meaning of this!?

I opened the message, while my friends do the same.

_Dear our beloved Sword Art Online players,_

_We're happy to inform you that as a result of the 'intense online gaming experience' during the past two years, we've finally released a new update patch for Sword Art Online. The update is taking place simultaneously all over the server and will change some aspects of the gameplay. This included:_

_-Fifteen new weapons and eleven new items_

_-New quests_

_-Balancing monsters stats. For more detailed information, please press __**here**_

_-Remapping dungeons. For more detailed information, please press __**here**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

"That's it!" Agil said. "That's why this place isn't the same as when I first came through here!"

"Damn that Kayaba!" Asuna cursed. "What rights did he has to toy with us like this!?"

I pressed at the '**here**' to see more information.

_-Remapping dungeons_

_ We've redesigned some of the dungeons in order to balance out the distance between towns in each floor, as well as reducing the number of monsters in the dungeons in favor of giving a chance for players to explore the areas and enjoy sightseeing._

What kind of reason was that!?

"Hey Agil, what's the name of this forest again?" Keita asked.

"It's called Tranquil Forest. Normally, there's not much monsters in here so people from all around the place came here to enjoy sightseeing." Agil explained.

I looked at the message again, and scrolling to the list of dungeons that got remapped.

.

_._

_Trail of the Wind, floor 41_

_Tranquil Forest, floor 24_

_Turlop's Den, floor 62_

_._

_._

"So this place's changed as well..." I began. "The message mentioned that it reduced the number of monsters in the dungeons. Well, if it was already low in the first version, then the patch should've remove almost all the monsters here."

"Might as well as making this place the safe zone, darn it..." Asuna said. "Anyway, back to the point! How are we gonna get to Mayfair now? It's getting dark already!"

"The message said that the redesigned maps were enlarged to balance out the distance between the towns. It was only a few minutes away from the hill we rested and the teleport town so...well...you know the rest." I guessed, which caused Asuna to groan in frustration.

"There _must_ be some way we could get to that town faster!" She continued. "They can't expect us to walk longer distances like this! It's unfair!"

"Wait!" Sachi spoke out. "Look!"

She pointed to the road in front of us.

There is one thing stood there...

_A horse._

We all slowly walked toward it.

"The heck? I didn't know this game has horses." Sasamaru said confusingly. "Well, I mean, those that aren't hideous monsters or something..."

We stared at the horse for a while. It doesn't show any sign of fear or hostility.

"It's so cute!" Lamia adored. She slowly moves her hand to touch it, but the horse simply galloped away into the nearby forest clearing, where stood a herd of about a dozen horses.

"Why are these horses here? They weren't here the first time around." Agil said. "Heck, they weren't suppose to be in the game!"

"Well, clearly something's changed since then after the patch update," Izumi replied. "Just continue reading the message."

I did as she said.

_._

_._

_._

_-New combat skills. For more detailed information, please press __**here**_

_-Enhanced item effects. For more detailed information, please press __**here**_

_*****__-New transportation method. For more detailed information, please press __**here***_

I pressed to show more details.

_-New transportation method_

_ As a result of the dungeon remapping mentioned above, the distances between locations have become longer, so we decided to add a new method of transportation for the players who would like to fast travel between places without having to spend the Return Crystal or any warping items. From this moment, horses of all breeds will be found randomly in outdoor maps, and can be tame to provide a faster mean of travelling. You can ride a horse by using a new item called 'Saddle', which is added to everyone's inventory for free for one time use and can be bought at any NPC item stores. Just walk up to the horse you wanted and use the 'Saddle' to be able to ride it. You can ride a horse for as long as you wanted but as soon as you get off, the 'Saddle' will be gone and you won't be able to ride it again unless you have an extra 'Saddle'. Those with enough money can rent or buy a personal horse from 'Stable', currently a new location added in some towns. Be warned, horses cannot be use deep inside special dungeons or while fighting a boss. Some new quests also required horses to complete them._

"T-they're joking! They're actually telling us that we're now able to...ride horses?" Asuna said in disbelief.

"What, Asuna? Aren't you complaining all the time that you're tired of walking around?" I teased her, while opening up my inventory menu to check for the new item.

"Just shut up!"

After a while, I found it, the 'Saddle' item, which appeared out of nowhere inside my inventory.

Better give this thing a try.

I walked up to the black horse eating grasses nearby, and press the 'Saddle' item.

_Do you want to use 'Saddle'?_

_Yes/No_

Hell yes.

I pressed 'Yes' and the 'Saddle' item disappeared from my inventory, and reappeared on the black horse's back.

The horse stopped eating, before turning toward me, and bow its head.

"Whoa...is this for real?" Keita said in awe. Others started to do the same with the nearby horses.

I use my hand to pet its head. The horse just simply closed its eyes and whinny happily.

"All right, kiddo. You ready for some fresh air?"

The horse whinny again, which I took it as _yes_.

"Let's do this, then."

And I climbed onto the horseback.

* * *

**Editor's Note: Well, a little tweak in the system won't hurt, or is it?**

**So I was checking out the SAO episodes again and SURPRISE, there ARE horses in SAO! Damnit! What's wrong with my memories!?**

**Well, to be honest, I've entirely forgot that there were horses in SAO, seeing that they rarely appeared in the game and almost nobody seem to ride them. Arrg, now I feel so embarrassed...(Note: From one reviewer mentioned to me, Kirito once rode a horse when he was investigating about a murder in the safe area, and if I remembered correctly, that was the ONLY scene in the entire anime showing horses.)**

**But alas, as much as I wanted to rewrite this damn chapter, I can't...Well, there won't be another mistake like this again, I promise! Just...pretended that Kirito solved the Murder in the Walls using different means, and that horses were just recently added to the game in this story. Argg, I feel so stupid...**

**And the horses in this chapter, well, I decided that they'll be Swiss Warmblood, a native breed found in Switzerland.**

**Next chapter's gonna be a while. A major test's coming up soon and my schedule's all f***ed up. So you guys will have to settle for this for a while.**


	9. Ghost Town

"WHOA! THIS IS AWESOME!" Oren yelled out excitingly, while desperately trying to stay on the horseback, but clearly he's enjoying it.

We're all riding the horses, those elegant Swiss Warmbloods, toward the exit of the forest. Despite the long distance before, the horses made them all too easy. All you have to do is to try and stay on the horseback without falling, and let them do all the job. They seem to even know where they're heading after we told them our destination.

I tried not to think too much about the fact that I've just talked with a _horse_, but...well, it's a video game, right? Anything's possible.

"Well, if there's one thing good about this game, I'd say this is it!" Asuna commented. She seems to be enjoying the ride. About time something finally satisfy her...

"Heh, without the patch update, you'll probably be complaining all the way to the town, Asuna." I teased.

"Why would Kayaba released the patch update anyways?" Keita asked.

"Good question. All he ever did these past two years is locking us in here and playing god. But the patch updated added new weapons, lowering monster difficulty, gave us more chance to explore the world, even a new transportation system! Why would he be doing this to us?" Izumi said.

"Or maybe he's just messing with us," Agil added. "Those new updates are all benefit to us players. Maybe he thought we'll let our guard down and not taking the game seriously."

Agil does have a point. Nowadays, more and more players who aren't working in guilds or have utmost devotion in clearing the game simply gave up and settle their lives in Aincrad. Some of them even thought that the game's unbeatable and they should enjoy life while it lasted, and prepared themselves for their permanent stay in SAO.

If not for all the monsters out there, Aincrad is nothing short of paradise. Who's to say that anyone doesn't want to live here? The patch update just made all the best things in SAO _better_.

I'd probably gave up and settle down here too if not for the fact that I still have a _life_ out there. My sister's probably worried sick about me right now.

"Hopefully the town isn't too far away now, it's getting dark." Keita spoke.

* * *

After five more minutes, we finally got out of the Tranquil Forest, and the sight that laid before us has to be seen to be believed.

The small town of Mayfair stood in front of us. Overshadowing it is the mountain range that laid across in the distance, presumably acting as the floor's borders as well. Near the town stood a large lake with reflections of the sunset shimmering in it. A truly magnificent sight.

"Honestly, Keita...I think we should just sell our house and buy a new one here!" Sasamaru said, he's staring in awe at the scenery in front of him.

"Don't get sidetracked, Sasamaru. We're here on a mission, not sightseeing." The ever-calmed Keita responded, gaining a somewhat disappointed face from Sasamaru.

We got off our horses in front of the town's gate. The saddles all disappeared soon after, but I managed to give a quick pet to the black Swiss Warmblood I've rode on before it ran back into the forest.

Damn it, I could get use to this horse-riding stuffs. Maybe when this is all over, I'll spare some money to buy a personal horse of my own.

"So, shall we get to work right now?" Agil asked. "I can't wait to find that bastard already."

"Yeah, let's get this done. Hopefully this merchant of yours will tell us more about the thief." Asuna added.

And then we walked into Mayfair.

* * *

"Holy hell, where is everybody!?" Asuna shouted.

The town of Mayfair seemed abandoned. Not a single soul in sight. Heck, not even usual NPCs like merchants or guards, who should be in every towns in this game, are here!

It's just quiet, _too_ quiet.

"Why can't anything just go right for once today!?" Agil added, also summarizing what I thought about all this perfectly.

"Calm down, everyone!" Sachi said. "At least we're all still here."

As we walked along the empty street inside Mayfair, we noticed that there's no sign of fighting, or even battle. In fact, everything is in fine condition, it's just, there's nobody here. The whole situation gave me a feeling of 'ghost town'.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." I commented.

"Of course you are. Nothing ever goes right with you involved!" Asuna said sarcastically.

"Does anyone think all of this have to do with the patch update?" Keita asked. "Maybe...something...happened to those town residents when the update took place."

I tried _not_ to imagine that, but it's the most likely scenario. Maybe the update patch accidentally, at best, move the residents to other locations while the NPCs were removed. At worst, well, I don't want to think about that.

"So much to find the missing merchant..." Agil sighed.

"Well, with nobody's here, there's not much to do, and it's getting dark now. Let's find somewhere to rest." Keita suggested.

"Yeah, the inn's NPC's probably gone, too. At least we can all share a free night here." Tetsuo added. Totally missing the point, if you asked me.

We found a tiny inn named 'Mayfair Meadows' in the town square. It's not too much, only three tiny rooms that can accommodate three people each, but at least it's cozy enough for us.

I shared a room with Agil and Asuna (for some strange reason, Sachi wants to share a room with me, but Keita was against the idea, and let's not start about Asuna...) but that night, I just can't bring myself to sleep.

With everything that's happened to this town, I just can't get it out of my mind. What happened with the townspeople? Even the NPCs? Did it has to do with the patch update?

"Hey Kirito? You're still awake?" Asuna's voice spoke up.

"Yeah..."

"Still thinking about the townspeople's disappearances?"

"Yep, something just doesn't feel right."

"Well, that's obvious!"

A loud creak came up from behind me. I turned to look, and saw Asuna dressed in her usual KBO uniform, as opposed to her casual wear just hours ago.

"Let's go find something out about all this, shall we?" She asked.

"Are you crazy!? It's almost midnight now! Can't we just wait until the morning!?"

"What makes you think I want to do this!?" She asked back. "At least it's only_ us_ that's still here. What if something happen to us and there's no one left to warn other players who might come here? The sooner we solve all of this, the better. That way, we could continue to find Agil's missing merchant as well." Asuna explained.

I glanced at Agil, who's now sleeping peacefully on his bed, unaware of our conversation.

"What makes you think we're gonna find anything out there, anyway? We don't have any clue of where to start."

"Well, that's why I'm _asking_ you for your help!" Asuna replied. "I've already seen how you were able to solve that murder in a safe area incident. You're the best person around here when it comes to investigating!"

"It was just pure luck..." I argued. "I'm not that good, honestly."

Asuna crossed her arms. "Hmph, if you're not going, fine! I'll do this myself! And nothing you say will change my mind!"

And she started stomping her way out of the room.

"W-wait!" I yelled, before quickly equipping my gears and ran out after her.

* * *

As we strolled along the dark streets, I noticed that Asuna clung on to my arms, while glancing around nervously.

"Will you stop doing that already?" I asked.

"Shut up and just keep walking! I'm trying to focus here!" She yelled, her voice somewhat tensed up than normal.

It doesn't take a genius to tell that she's afraid of the dark. Heh, one more thing I could tease her with now.

We kept walking until we got out of the city, and eventually into the Tranquil Forest. My guess is that if there's nothing wrong in the city, I should start with the surrounding places.

Well, another reason is that because the forest feels a lot more comfortable than in the town right now. The atmosphere's feel calmer now, with the moonlight providing enough illumination for us to see in the dark, and Asuna finally let go of me.

"Is this your idea of walking in the moonlight?" Asuna asked.

"Heh, you idiot."

We kept walking until we reached a forest clearing somewhere in the forest.

That's when someone took us by surprise.

"FREEZE!" A female voice shouted up.

Me and Asuna ready our weapons, before turning to face the source of the voice.

The speaker; a young black-haired girl with a pair of glasses, is pointing her weapon, a metal spear, at us.

The kicker? She's wearing an armor with Holy Dragon Alliance insignia.

"Who the hell are you!?" Asuna asked, her rapier pointed at the mysterious HDA spearwoman.

"I didn't order you to speak, KBO knight!" The spearwoman spoke. "I'm investigating the disappearance of the Mayfair townspeople, and I need to know, one way or another, the reason that you two are here."

"Well, miss, we're trying to do the same thing here." I said, trying to ease the tension, but I didn't lower my sword yet.

"How could I trust you? You're travelling with a KBO companion." She gave a death glare to Asuna, while she did the same to her.

"It's _Asuna_, you idiot!" Asuna gritted her teeth. "What's your name, anyway!?"

The mysterious spearwoman used her left hand to adjust her glasses.

"My name is Sinon. I'm the vice commander of the Holy Dragon Alliances."

* * *

**Editor's note: Another chapter down! Damn it, so much for studying for the test! -_-***

**Well, another surprise for you guys, right? Sinon wasn't originally in SAO. Heck, she didn't appeared until well later into The Phantom Bullet (aka GGO) arc! But well, why not? Sinon's one of my most favorite characters in SAO (Technically GGO but...ah screw it) so I wanted to include her here, too. Besides, it's 'Alternate Story' so obviously something won't be the same. I decided to let her be the spear user because I thought Sinon would like to use long range weapons, and since SAO has no guns or even bows, spears will have to do. I planned her to be some sort of a rival to Asuna in my story (I even made her to share the same rank as Asuna in their respective guilds!). **

**No more chapters for a while! I need to study for my test! **


	10. The Eclipse

Oh boy, this is not going well.

"Now, put away your weapons." Sinon, the HDA spearwoman in front of us said.

"Like hell we're not!" Asuna shouted. "There's two of us, and only you alone! What makes you think you can take us on?!"

Sinon didn't even flinched. Her spear is still pointing at us.

"That depends on both of you." She replied. "I do not want to attack you, but I can't say that I'm willing to trust you, so put away your weapons before I changed my mind."

"Why don't _you_ put away your weapon first?" Asuna spoke.

Both Asuna and Sinon stood still, weapons still drawn. Asuna is already in her fighting stance, while Sinon, sensing the hostility from her, is preparing to do the same.

If this goes on any longer...

"Both of you, just calm down already!" I said. "Sinon, you said you're investigating about the townspeople's disappearance, right?"

Sinon nodded.

"Then why don't we work together? We're trying to do the same thing."

Sinon stared at me, then glanced at Asuna, before looking back at me again. Guessing from her expression, she must be thinking 'You wanted me to work with _her?!'._

Asuna herself gave me a shocked expression.

"Are you out of your freaking mind!?" She yelled at me.

"Look, Asuna, we're going nowhere like this. We've found no clues to lead us to the missing townspeople so far. It's a wild goose chase. If Sinon could help us, then we'll have a better chance, don't you agree?" I explained, putting my Elucidator away in the meantime so that Sinon could understand that we come in peace. (Well, at least _I_ did...)

"Finally, someone intelligent." Sinon grinned, finally putting her spear away at last. "I hope your KBO companion will be as smart as you do, Black Swordsman."

Wha?! She _knew_ me!?

Goddamnit, why is everyone in this game know my name!?

"Wha, what did you just say, you...!?" Asuna yelled out angrily, before turning to look at me. "I'm _not _going anywhere with that girl!"

"Then you can go back and wait with the others," I said. "Me and Sinon will continue the job from here."

"WHA!? WHY, YOU-!"

"It's just a joke!" I quickly told her. "Besides, at least we found another friendly player around here!"

"I wouldn't call her 'friendly', you dummy!"

"Hey, with all the townspeople vanished, at least there's still her left! Why do you have to be so harsh!" I frowned at her.

"She's from HDA, that's for one thing! Maybe she was sent to hunt us down!" Asuna argued.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? The HDA didn't send me here. I just arrived here yesterday." Sinon asked.

Both me and Asuna stared at her, confused.

"But...but that doesn't make any..."

**SWOOSH!**

Something just flew pass by me at very high speed, luckily I evaded it just in time.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

I turned behind to look. The thing landed just a few feet away from me. It's an _axe_.

"Kirito, watch out!" Asuna shouted.

I turned back again, just in time to see something...no..._someone_, lunged at me with another axe in his hand.

I readied my Elucidator, while Sinon and Asuna summoned their weapons.

"DIE!"

The mysterious man roared, but what scares me is his voice.

It's not a human voice, it's kinda like a growl, an animal growl.

Anyway, that's not the highest concern for me right now.

I blocked his axe, but he continued to push onto me to break my defense.

"Dammit!"

He's freaking strong! It's like fighting a floor boss!

Around me, Asuna and Sinon aren't in a very good position, either. They're surrounded by another two more men just like the one I'm fighting.

After some struggle, I finally push him back. My companions weren't so lucky. It took both Asuna and Sinon's strengths to just drive back one enemy, but in doing so left an opening for another one to ambush them.

"Damn it, Kirito! Help us out here!" Asuna yelled as she evaded a strike from a man behind her, almost got crushed by the axe.

"I'm busy right now, Asuna!"

As much as I wanted to help her, I can't, because two more enemies arrived to back up the one I drove back earlier. Now it's five-on-three.

We're outnumbered.

The three men, all of them with axes in their hands, then rushed at me.

_Fuck._

I raised my sword in a vain attempt to block their attacks. Their combined strengths were more than my Elucidator could handle.

Before I knew it, I flew away, and I felt a painful shock on my head as I crash-landed onto the ground head-first.

"KIRITO!"

Ouch, that hurts!

Dusts and dirt covered me. I opened my eyes and stared at the HP bar. It dropped to just half.

Fear kicked into me as I realize that unlike last time, this place _isn't _a safe zone.

The three enemies that attacked me still stood there, roaring and growling.

Goddamnit, I can't fight them like this!

Not with one sword...

_Wait a sec...I still have that Dual Blades skill!_

But, damn it, if I use it here, Asuna and Sinon will know that I...

_But there's no chance for us if I don't do something!_

_We're all gonna die if I don't use that skill._

Shit, here goes nothing!

Asuna just got pushed to the ground by one of the attackers, while Sinon moved to cover her, but even she couldn't last long against all those enemies.

"Asuna! Give me your rapier!" I shouted.

"Wha! What the hell are you thinking!?"

"Just give me that thing!"

Asuna reluctantly opened her inventory menu as I do the same, before quickly transfer her rapier, the Lambent Light, to me. The sword disappeared from Asuna's hand and reappeared in my inventory as Sinon's defenses' finally broken.

"AHHH!"

Asuna and Sinon were both got slammed into the nearby tree, knocking them both out.

Now I'm completely surrounded by five unknown enemies.

"You're gonna pay for that, you bastard..."

_Activate Unique Skill: Dual Blades_

Elucidator and Lambent Light appeared on my hands as I get into my fighting stance. The attackers, apparently knowing that I won't be holding out anymore, growls loudly and rushed into me from every direction.

"Heh...better luck next time, you assholes..." I grinned.

Wait for it...

"THE ECLIPSE!"

And with that, I opened the Hell's gate itself.

My swords danced wildly as they cut down each and every attack those guys threw at me. The Eclipse skill unleashed a terrific 27-hit combos to all enemies in the close vicinity.

I can't even describe the skill myself. Everything got blurred, darkened. I can't see a damn thing at all...

...like I needed to, I just slashed at anything and everything unlucky enough to be within my swords' reaches.

Heh, guess that's why they called it 'The Eclipse'. There's not a single thing on this world that can escape its reach.

Left, up, down, cross slash, scissors swipe...

Those guys never stood a chance.

Minutes later, the attackers were all defeated.

I'm panting heavily, exhausted from using all my strengths left inside me, drained of all energy.

_Heh, that's enough for one day..._

My swords disappeared, as I fell to the ground.

* * *

"...rito!...Kirito!"

Huh? Oh, not this again...

Being awaken by someone after passing out twice in one day? Damnit, something's wrong with me.

I slowly open my eyes, bright light blinded me for a few seconds. It's already morning.

"Kirito! Oh, thank god you're alive!"

It was Asuna.

"...Ugh...damn it...Will there be another time like this again?" I asked. Heh, why is it every time I rushed to save someone it either ends with me blacking out or almost dying myself?

That earned a few relief laughs from Asuna. Heh, a good way to start a new day, I suppose.

Sinon stood beside her, although without her glasses. She gave me a small smile.

"I don't know what you're doing last night because I passed out, but great job. You're an excellent fighter worthy of your fame, Black Swordsman."

"Just call me Kirito." I told her. "You seems pretty good with that spear too, Sinon. Good job last night."

Sinon blushed a little, before quickly turning back to her serious face.

"Anyway, there's something that you should know." Sinon began. She pointed her finger behind her.

I looked, and saw the people we fought with last night lying on the ground, but there's something different. Last night, those people wore dark armors and were covered with strange markings on their faces, but today, the armors and the markings were gone, and they are all in normal clothes.

"I checked their bodies this morning. They're the lost Mayfair townspeople." Asuna said.

What the heck!?

"W-what happened to them?!"

"Like hell if I know!," Asuna replied, before glancing at Sinon. "Why don't you ask that girl? Maybe she could help you more than I did!"

Damn it, there's no need to be angry!

Sinon cleared her throat.

"Okay. Last night, I caught a glimpse of those markings on their bodies. They resembled the marking of a rogue red guild that was once active around a year ago." She explained.

"So, you were sent to investigate about those guys by your commander, right? I mean, by Feron." I said.

Sinon frowned.

"No, I said I was sent here by my commander, right? My commander is Edgar. How did you know the name of that jerk Feron anyway?!"

I glanced at Asuna, who shook her head, before turning back to her.

Maybe it's not the best time to tell her the truth right now. We have more important things to do.

"Let's just say it's a long story, Sinon. I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to find out more about this rogue guild of yours. If they're the ones behind the townspeople disappearance, we need to find and shut them down as quick as possible, before they...turn the townspeople into...those monsters..."

Damn it, what sick mind would do things like this to their fellow players!? It's just cruel!

How the hell did they manage to do that anyway?

Turning players and NPCs into killing machines? Only GMs could do something like that.

_Damn you, Kayaba. Is this one of your works, too?_

"Speaking of strange things, how the hell did you defeated them last night?" Asuna asked. "They fought just like some freakin' mini-bosses! There's no way in hell any of us could beat them in a one-on-one fight, but you _somehow_ beaten all five of them on your own!"

She leaned her face at me, staring fixed into my eyes.

"Is there something you're not telling me, you idiot!? And where's my Lambent Light!?"

This is gonna suck...

* * *

**Editor's note: Okay, I know, I sucked at writing fight scenes.**

**The fact that I just wrote this after I finished my test didn't help things at all, so er, I'm gonna keep this brief. Just pictured that Kirito used his 'Dual Blades' skills just like in the anime. It's just awesome as that in my story. And FYI, the Eclipse is actually one of the combos Kirito used to fight with Heathcliff in the final battle. It's one of the strongest attacks in the game so of course it has to cost a lot of energy. That's why he passed out, just like when he fought with the 74th floor boss, a minotaur-like beast (I forgot its name LOL).**

**Next chapter soon... **


	11. Painful Past

"So, what are we gonna do about these guys?" Sinon asked.

I stared at the still unconscious townspeople in front of us. They're alive, but they won't wake up anytime soon. Maybe I was too hard on them last night...but hey? It's for our own survival.

Five guys, five normal guys...that's just what they are right now. Nothing more or less.

But last night...

_What the hell were them last night?_

_What happened to them?_

Guess this is all going nowhere until they wake up. With luck, they can explain about what happened.

"We can't do anything for now. Let's go back to Mayfair. Might as well as brought these guys with us." I said.

"Are you crazy!?" Asuna yelled. "There's only three of us, but there's five of them! How do you expect us to carry them all the way back!?"

Crap.

"You had a point, KBO knight," Sinon added. "But we can't leave them here like this, either."

"First of all, it's _Asuna_, and if we're really gonna take them, we can only bring two of them back with us."

"Wait, only two?" I said. "There's three of us."

"But we're _women!_" Asuna argued. "These are muscular guys down there! It's gonna take both me and this girl here to lift off even one of them!"

"She has a point, Kirito." Sinon interrupted. "We're gonna need more manpower to carry all of them back, and Asuna, my name is Sinon, by the way..."

I nodded, sighed in defeat, before proceeding to the nearest townspeople and carry him up.

Might as well as take who we could. After we reunite with the Black Cats, we can come back for the rest.

As much as I don't want to, I must leave the rest of them here for a while. It's too risky for one of us to be left behind to guard them. We all witnessed how those beasts could do last night. If there's going to be another ambush like that, we're all dead for sure.

* * *

In the end, we all managed to carry two men back to Mayfair, with me carrying one, while Asuna and Sinon helped with the other.

It took us about an hour, but we safety travelled back to Mayfair Meadows.

Two familiar faces are waiting for us inside the inn.

"Oi! Kirito, Asuna! Where the hell have you been!?" Agil shouted. His face is a mixture of worrying and 'I'm-so-gonna-kick-your-ass' look.

"Yeah! We've been looking everywhere for you guys!" Another high-pitched voice came from Lamia, who's sitting at the coach looking at us disapprovingly.

"Wait, who's those guys? And who's that _girl_!" She pointed at Sinon, who tried in vain to not to make eye contact with anyone in the room.

"Isn't she one of the HDA paladins?" Agil asked.

"It's alright, she's a friend." I said. "But right now, we need to take those guys upstairs. There's still three more of them in Tranquil Forest and we need to go get them." I explained.

"W-wait a sec, you've been missing all night, can't you tell us about what happened first?" Agil asked.

"It's a long story, sir." Sinon finally spoke. "We'll explain on the way there."

"Where is everybody, anyways?" Asuna looked around "There's only you and Lamia here."

Lamia sighed. "Thanks to you guys suddenly disappeared, Keita ordered us to split into groups and search the town to find you. Me and Agil were left waiting here at the inn in case you guys get back."

Damn it, what have they done!?

If...if they left the town and find more of those beasts we've fought last night, they'll stand no chance against them!

"Come on Agil, help us take these people upstairs. We need to hurry!" I said.

* * *

Ten minutes later, we're back at the town entrance, along with the horses we've 'borrowed' from the stable nearby, and returned to the Tranquil Forest.

Along the way, I explained to Agil and Lamia about what happened last night, from the meeting with Sinon to the ambush by those beasts, which turned out to be the missing townspeople transformed by...something, and they're very, very dangerous.

"That's...that's just horrible!" Lamia gasped. "To think that players could be turned into...into those monsters..."

"But how could they do it?...I mean, how could they do something like this to the townspeople!" Agil commented.

"My guess is Kayaba's behind all this." Asuna said. "He's a GM, after all. Only he could do something like this."

"Now, now, let's not get to conclusions just yet." Sinon replied. "Last night, those people have the markings of a rogue guild I've been tracking down. Maybe they're the ones responsible."

"But that means they're capable of altering the game's data!" I said. "Even Beaters can't do that kind of feat! If it's not Kayaba, the only ones who could do this kind of thing must be..."

"Hackers," Asuna finished. "I _hate_ those people."

Okay, as if Kayaba isn't bad enough for us...

"But if what you said about them is true, then we're clearly outmatched." Agil noted. "You guys almost died took down just five of them! That's not even half of the missing townspeople. If we're to face a dozen more of them, we'll just be slaughtered."

"Then we need to take down those hackers fast. I don't know how good those hackers are, but changing entire player data and replacing them with monsters is very difficult even to the most skilled hackers. It should take a very long time to even create one of those things." I explained. "Hopefully, we're not too late, and the townspeople are not all transformed. If we take down the ones behind this, then we might be able to stop the process."

"Amen to that." Agil said, before turning to Sinon "Hey, Sinon, you're a spear user?"

"Yes. I happen to have an interest in long-range weapons. It's a shame that this game has no bows and arrows, though..." She replied.

"The game's called 'Sword Art Online' for a reason, you idiot." Asuna snarkily said, earning a few laughs from Lamia, and even Sinon giggled a bit, too.

"Ah...I happen to possess an excellent spear in my inventory. Well, technically, it _is _your spear. The HDA accused me of stealing it from them...might as well as give it back to you now." Agil spoke carefully. He's having deep thoughts about this.

"Oi, what are you doing!?" I whispered. "You're giving that spear back to her!?"

"What's wrong with it? There's nobody in our party who could use it anyway, plus it's a HDA weapon. I'm just returning it to the rightful owner."

"Damn it, just do whatever you want..." I gave up.

Actually, it's somewhat a good idea, too. Agil does have a point. Sinon's an excellent spear fighter. She'll be deadlier in combat with the Fierce Dragon as her weapon.

Sinon stared at Agil when he gave her the weapon. "W-where did you get this?"

"It's a long story...and _not_ a pleasant one either." Agil sighed. "I'll tell you more when all of this is over."

At any rate, we made our way through the forest, all the while shouting for Keita's group, to no avail.

I'm starting to worry about them.

_Sachi..._

I shook my head. Damn it, she's alright, they're alright.

Now I need to focus on rescuing the townspeople first.

Everything's gonna be fine if we get this over with...

The same cannot be said for Lamia, though. I caught a glimpse of her worried, almost terrified face. I can notice her anxiety and nervousness when she's riding the horse.

The poor girl lost her entire guild once already, and now she's afraid that it might happen again.

"It's gonna be alright, Lamia." I rode my horse near hers, before putting my hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna find them eventually, they'll be fine."

"...Ah, it's okay...Thank you, Kirito-kun..." Lamia spoke softly. "I was just...I'm just wishing that I could've gone with them, too."

"Don't think like that. You're more safer in the town, Lamia-chan." Asuna said.

"But what about my friends!? They're out there risking their lives! I can't just sit back and wait for it to be all over! I wanted to do something!" Lamia protested.

"I...I failed them...last time...my previous guild...They all died because I did nothing...because I'm too afraid to do anything..."

Her voice trembled.

"Hey, Lamia...don't blame yourself for this." Agil joined us. "This is not your fault, nor theirs. It's just a bad accident. Accidents happen, Lamia."

"You wouldn't understand, Agil." Lamia replied, she's almost about to cry right now. "To watch my friends dying one by one in front of me...and wondering why it is me that's still alive. What makes me so special? What makes me the one that's alive but not them?"

"You know, I once thought the same thing as you, Lamia." I said. "Back then, I was afraid that I'll let my friends down, that I'll failed them, that I'll let them die..."

I stared into her teary eyes.

"Until now, I still have that fear inside me, the fear of losing my friends, but you know what? Have you ever thought about if it was _you_ who was left behind? If it was you who died but they survived?"

Damn it, I'm just rehearsing what I heard from Sachi's message to me...

Lamia didn't answer anything yet, so I continue.

"Everyone is important to one another, Lamia, and the unbearable pain of losing them is just too much for anyone to handle, but it is also life, and to let ourselves to sink deep within those negative thoughts won't do you any good."

Lamia remained speechless, though she stopped crying now.

"Think about it, Lamia. Your friends gave up their lives to save you. They wanted you to be happy, to move on, to live your life for them. You can honor their memory by doing your best and win this game, to get out of here alive, to be _yourself_. An adorable, playful, master saber user Lamia."

I patted her head and gave her a smile, hoping that it might cheer her up.

Thankfully, it worked. Lamia finally managed to form a little smile.

"Thank you, Kirito-san...you're very kind to me." She spoke. "I'll do my best with you guys, and we're gonna get out of here together."

Agil started clapping his hands, while Sinon just smiled at us, and Asuna kept staring at me.

"...Never thought you could pull something like this, Kirito. Nice job."

Heh, guess I have to thank Sachi for this later...

* * *

The good news is, we arrived at the location of where we left the three townspeople in the morning without any incident.

The bad news is, they're all _gone._

"Ah, come on!" Asuna groaned. "Why can't something just go our way for once!?"

"Perhaps they woke up when we're gone?" Sinon said.

"Or they might be recaptured by those people who were behind all of this..." Agil suggested.

"Either way, this is not good at all."

I glanced around, and saw some footsteps on the ground.

_Ah, right, time to use the Trail Tracking Vision._

I turned on the TTV using the console, allowing me to see the footsteps more clearly.

"Let's follow these footsteps. If they woke up, they might not have gone pretty far. We could still catch up with them." I said.

"Whatever you say, Kirito-san." Sinon agreed. "Let's get this over with."

And so, we followed the footsteps through the forest.

I'm just hoping that something doesn't happen to them, or to Keita's group...

I'm just hoping that we're not too late...

* * *

**Editor's note: First of all, SORRY for the very long update, guys! It's been a very busy month in college and I don't have any free time to continue the story at all! It's just...well...**

**Anyway, this story will be continued, don't worry!**

**About this chapter, well, I did my best to develop Lamia's character, though it might not be the best. If this is an episode in an anime, I'd say this and the next three chapters will be 'Lamia's arc', something like that. Also, I tend to limit the character roles in each arcs. Like in Lamia's arc, Keita's group doesn't have too much roles, and the story focuses on Lamia, Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Agil in particular. That's how it goes. :)**

**And the Trail Tracking Vision? It's one of the 'Tracking' skills, one that Kirito used in the anime to find Sachi in the city drains, in 'that one episode', yeah...**

**Will be working on the next chapter as soon as possible! Any suggestions or ideas welcomed! Please review! :)**


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